Candidates for Libya's general election can register in the first half of November after preparations are completed, Emad Al Sayeh, the head of the country's High National Elections Commission, said on Sunday.
The first round of presidential elections will take place on December 24, and a second round will be staged in tandem with parliamentary elections at a later date, Mr Al Sayeh said at a press conference in Tripoli, the capital.
“We want to underscore our venerable judicial system which we are proud of … and which we should refer to to build a state of law,” he said, addressing scepticism about the electoral process.
“A message to Libyans: the commission will not renege on its promise to hold free and fair elections,” he said.
The elections are seen as a major step towards ending conflicts that followed the fall of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Also on Sunday, Aref Ali Nayed, chairman of the Ihya Libya [Reviving Libya] party, announced his intention to run in the presidential election.
On Thursday, Tripoli hosted the Libya Stabilisation Conference, with ministers from France, Egypt, Italy, Russia, the US, and the UAE present, among others.
Delegates and members of Libya's government pushed against foreign interference in the national vote.
“There is no other option but to respect fully the principle of non-interference. Deterrent actions should be taken against all those who interfere in others' sovereignty,” Libya's Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush said on Friday.
