Libya: PM to reportedly step down in preparation for Dec. 24 presidential elections

Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah is preparing to step down for his position in a move to run for the Dec. 24 presidential elections, Alwasat website reports.

Dbeibah, the Libyan news outlet notes citing undisclosed sources, has chosen to hand over affairs to his deputy Ramadan Abu Janah Al-Hasnawi.

The move came following amendments made to the electoral law. The head of the High National Elections Commission, Emad Al-Sayeh proposed changes to article 12 of the code – abolishing the requirement that those currently holding government positions stop working three months before the election date.

Dbeibah, who lost the state legislature’s confidence vote last month, is the second prominent Libyan figure to be preparing his resignation for the upcoming election.
In September rebel army commander Khalifa Haftar stepped down from the top leadership of the so-called Libyan National Army in favor of his Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant-General Abdel Razek Al-Nathouri for the three months, a move considered as an indication of Haftar’s intention to run for the presidency.

Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh has been reportedly absent from sessions in what appears as plans to withdraw from his position in order to unveil his bid for the elections.

Libyans will elect their first central leader in a decade after the NATO helped topple former President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since then, the country slid into chaos and became the zone of influence of several foreign countries.