Incitement against Haftar: Libyan Brotherhood ignites strife

Mustafa Kamel

Inciting chaos has become a habit for the Brotherhood in Libya, as it has started to use its usual methods to obstruct the elections scheduled for December, in addition to playing the chord of igniting the fuse of war, which prompted the Presidential Council to hasten to announce the convening of a conference for the stability of Libya in October to reject postponing the elections and ensuring Libyan stability.

Escalating attack on Haftar

The Brotherhood has escalated its attack on the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who may run in the presidential elections. The international Brotherhood organization issued instructions to its branch in Libya to prepare a candidate to confront Haftar, and the Brotherhood chairman of the High Council of State, Khaled al-Mishri, is the closest to being chosen for this.

Mishri threatened during a television interview that he would not allow Haftar’s candidacy, claiming that the Field Marshal is not allowed to enter politics according to the law, despite the parliament’s amendment of the draft law on the election of the president with a clause allowing military figures to run for the presidency on condition that they give up their position three months before the election date. This applies to Field Marshal Haftar, who assigned the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant-General Abdel Razek al-Nadori, with the duties of Commander in Chief until the date of the presidential elections.

However, Mishri did not confirm his own candidacy for the presidency, saying, “I do not say that I will exit this race, nor do I say that I want to enter it, but we will study the situation.”

The High Council of State, which is controlled by the Brotherhood, had called for postponing the presidential elections, which the international community demands be organized on schedule. The council claims that the elections are meaningless in light of the current situation in Libya.

The Libyan Brotherhood sought to raise concerns about the return of division and war to the country, claiming that the parliament’s move would hinder the holding of the general elections on their scheduled date on December 24. The parliament was quick to block the interpretation of the withdrawal of confidence of the Government of National Unity (GNU) as an obstruction to the elections, as the government will continue to conduct business, as revealed by parliament spokesman Abdullah Blehaq.

Refusal to postpone

On the other hand, Libyan Presidential Council President Mohamed al-Menfi announced the holding of an international conference to mobilize support for stability in Libya in October, warning that the country is facing real challenges that may undermine the elections. He explained that the aim of the conference is to ensure international support and guarantee the country’s future, warning against returning to square one if the electoral process fails.

According to a statement from the Presidential Council, Menfi commended the efforts of the United Nations in supporting political dialogue to restore stability and build the democratic state that the Libyans seek, stressing the importance of the role of the UN Support Mission in Libya in helping the success of the political process and holding elections in the best political and security conditions.

While Presidential Council Vice President Abdullah al-Lafi stressed that the legislative authority should assume its national and legal responsibilities in completing the legislation required to complete the electoral process, the House of Representatives issued a decision to form a committee to prepare a proposed law for the election of the Council during the presidential and parliamentary elections.