Libya: Haftar resigns from his military role ahead of elections | News from Khalifa Haftar

Libyan media said the move paved the way for Haftar to run for president under a controversial new law.

Eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar paved the way to participate in the proposed presidential election in December after announcing he would step down from his military role for three months.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Haftar said he had appointed an interim replacement to head the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) until December 24, the date of the legislative and presidential vote.

Haftar heads the east-based LNA and waged war on Western factions after the country split in 2014, including a 14-month offensive to take Tripoli which was pushed back last year after devastating areas of the capital.

Libyan media said the step paves the way for Haftar to run for president under a controversial new law.

National elections were promoted as a way to end the decade-long Libyan crisis, but were embroiled in bitter arguments over legitimacy that could undo a months-long peace process.

The election was mandated last year by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, an assembly selected by the UN that established a peace plan in Libya, a major oil producer, by installing a unity government and organizing a nationwide vote.

However, as the current eastern-based parliament approved the unity government in March, key elements of the plan have since stalled and on Tuesday the chamber said it had withdrawn the trust of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. .

Earlier this month, Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh approved a presidential election law with a controversial clause that analysts said was designed to allow him and Haftar to run for office without risking their existing positions.

The clause, passed in a vote with a small number of lawmakers present, said officials could step down three months before the election and return to their posts if they don’t win. The chamber did not vote on the final version of the law.

The parliament, which was elected in 2014 and split soon after into warring factions, has yet to pass a law for a separate parliamentary election, as requested by the UN dialogue forum.

A Tripoli-based advisory body, the High Council of State, rejected parliament’s electoral law, increasing the likelihood that any vote would be challenged as illegal.