The Administrative Judicial Department of the Court of Appeals in Misurata, located in western Libya, decided on Thursday to suspend the implementation of the decision of the High Electoral Commission regarding the adoption of the preliminary list of presidential candidates.
This came in response to the appeal submitted by several Libyan personalities, through the lawyer Abdel Basset Salem Al-Haddad, against the parliament institution, the President of the Presidential Council Muhammad Al-Manfi, the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and the High Electoral Commission, after the decision to adopt the preliminary list of 73 candidates for the presidential elections.
Misurata court decision
The appellants considered that the head of the High Electoral Commission, Imad al-Sayeh, “impersonated” since “no decision was issued by the legislative authority to name him”, and therefore his issuance of the preliminary list of candidates “is considered null, which requires the judiciary to cancel it.”
Misurata court decision
They added that the acceptance of candidate Khalifa Haftar in the initial list of candidates is considered “illegal”, because he “does not meet the conditions for candidacy as he has a second nationality, and criminal sentences have been issued against him, and he is required for investigation by the Military Prosecutor’s Office.”
Sabratha court decision
The lawyers were divided over the Misurata Court of Appeal’s decision to stop the implementation of the commission’s decision regarding the adoption of the preliminary list for the presidency, between those who saw that this means stopping all procedures carried out by the Electoral Commission, and those who consider that this court is not competent to issue such decisions.
