2 presidential candidates arrive in Libya’s Benghazi, amid expected vote delay

By Walid Abdullah
TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – Libyan presidential candidates Fathi Bashagha and Ahmed Maiteeq arrived in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday.

"Today, we arrived at Benina Airport, and the city of Benghazi will be the first destination in our tour of the eastern region," Maiteeq, a former member of Libya’s Presidency Council, said on his Facebook page.

Bashagha, a former interior minister, said: "The last barrier must be broken, and what matters to us is the future of Libya.”

“We are happy to be here, and Libya must be unified; security and safety will return, but this requires the participation of all Libyans,” he told reporters.

Libya’s eastern region is under the control of renegade General Khalifa Haftar, whose militia attempted to seize control of the capital Tripoli in 2019 when Bashagha was in office.

According to the 218 Libyan TV channel, the two candidates will meet with a number of other candidates, including Haftar, during their tour in the eastern region.

The presidential elections are scheduled to take place on Dec. 24, and the parliamentary polls 52 days later.

However, Al-Hadi Al-Saghir, head of the parliamentary committee in charge of following up on the electoral process, indicated in a Friday statement, that "the postponement of the elections is a settled matter and a reality."

Earlier on Tuesday, the head of Libya’s elections commission, Imad al-Sayeh, decided to dissolve affiliated electoral committees and demanded rolling back all implemented electoral process steps.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat