Hundreds took to the streets in several Libyan cities to protest against the cancellation of Friday’s long-awaited presidential election, a blow to hopes of ending a decade of chaos in the North African country.
Several parliamentary candidates and political groups have called for the protests, which underline risks to a fragile stability in the oil-rich nation that’s a haven for militias and still riven by an east-west divide.
Libya’s election commission has proposed Jan. 24 as a new date for the presidential poll, which was to be followed by parliamentary elections on Feb. 15. But no dates have been officially set or agreed upon by the country’s rival factions. At a Benghazi rally, protesters raised banners reading “yes for elections, no for postponement.”
“All of Libya must have elections on time. We reject any postponement or manipulation of the Libyan will,” Mohamed Alorfy, an activist told the crowd.
The US, UK, France, Germany and Italy on Friday jointly called on Libyan authorities to swiftly determine a date for the polling and to issue the final list of presidential candidates.
