Election delay will not solve Libya's problems

Significance

This is expected to be followed by the first parliamentary election since 2014, at some point in early 2022. It now looks increasingly likely that both elections will be delayed. The electoral process lacks the elements it would need to be truly transformative, but it is prompting shifts in the political elite which will dictate developments for at least the next year.

Impacts

• Khalifa Haftar will keep pushing for his armed group to form the core of Libya’s future army
• Seif al-Islam Qadhafi’s candidacy in the elections is unlikely to result in him becoming president.
• Aguileh Saleh looks set to stay on as House of Representatives speaker with no clear date for parliamentary elections.