Tripoli, Nov 30 Libya's High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced Sunday that it has achieved full operational readiness to hold the country's presidential elections, according to an official statement posted on its Facebook page.
The commission said the completion of recent municipal council elections enhanced the technical capacities needed to manage challenges associated with the upcoming presidential and parliamentary polls, Xinhua News Agency reported.
It added that preliminary planning indicates elections could begin in early March 2026, with the start date possibly extending to mid-April 2026, pending the provision of necessary funding, security arrangements, and an agreed mechanism to support the electoral process amid the presence of the country's two governments.
The commission also called on the UN Support Mission in Libya to focus on resolving core disputes surrounding amendments to the electoral laws, urging a swift settlement to allow the commission to proceed with issuing the required regulations and operational procedures.
The statement stressed that any solution must come from Libyans themselves, noting that the country cannot be built through foreign interventions or initiatives influenced by external or regional interests.
The commission said returning to the ballot box remains the only path to ending division and restoring legitimacy, reaffirming that it will continue its work with professionalism, neutrality, and integrity to support a national path toward change.
The statement follows an official request made by Aguila Saleh, speaker of Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives, on Friday, which called on the HNEC to immediately begin preparations for presidential elections. Demonstrations erupted recently in several cities in eastern and southern Libya, demanding nationwide presidential elections to end political division.
Since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been split between two rival governments -- the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and the eastern-based administration appointed by the House of Representatives and headed by Osama Hammad.
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