The Libyan parliament declares a presidential election ‘impossible.’

The Libyan parliament declares a presidential election ‘impossible.’

A Libyan parliamentary committee warned on Wednesday that holding the long-awaited presidential election in two days as planned has become ‘impossible,’ a big setback for foreign attempts to end the oil-rich country’s decade-long instability.

The announcement was the first formal confirmation that the balloting would not take place on Friday, despite rising challenges and pleas for the poll to be postponed.

The planned poll has been a lynchpin of international efforts to bring peace to Libya for nearly a year, and many have cautioned that either holding the election on time or postponing it might be a destabilising setback.

Al-Hadi al-Sagheir, the head of the committee tasked with overseeing the electoral process, wrote to Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, saying the panel found ‘it is impossible to hold the poll as scheduled on December 24.’

The Libyan parliament declares a presidential election ‘impossible.’

A Libyan parliamentary committee warned on Wednesday that holding the long-awaited presidential election in two days as planned has become ‘impossible,’ a big setback for foreign attempts to end the oil-rich country’s decade-long instability.

The announcement was the first formal confirmation that the balloting would not take place on Friday, despite rising challenges and pleas for the poll to be postponed.

The planned poll has been a lynchpin of international efforts to bring peace to Libya for nearly a year, and many have cautioned that either holding the election on time or postponing it might be a destabilising setback.

Al-Hadi al-Sagheir, the head of the committee tasked with overseeing the electoral process, wrote to Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, saying the panel found ‘it is impossible to hold the poll as scheduled on December 24.’