Libya’s Brotherhood calling for preventing presidential vote by force of arms

Ahmed Adel

The branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya incites Libyans to carry arms, in its bid to sabotage the presidential elections that are slated for December 24.

Rumbling of arms

Libya’s sacked mufti, top religious authority, al-Sadek al-Gheriani, who lives in Turkey, has called on what he described as ‘revolutionaries’ and ‘patriots’ to stand united and carry arms.

During a recent appearance on al-Tanasuh, a television channel he owns and is broadcast from Turkey, al-Gheriani said Libya’s ‘free people’ should not allow the elections to be held.

Notorious for issuing religious edicts in support of Turkish presence in Libya and the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Gheriani also criticized Libyan National Army Commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and other high-ranking officials in eastern Libya.

“These people have to be prevented from entering the elections,” al-Gheriani said.

Incitement

Earlier this month, al-Gheriani called on Libyans to take to the streets to reject the elections.

This came hard on the heels of his calls for abolishing the Election Commission which will oversee the electoral process in Libya.

He accused the commission of bringing all contradictions together in ways that violate the law.

“They [the members of the commission] are now hatching plots against you,” al-Gheriani said.

He claimed that the commission was making these so-called ‘plots’ only to serve the interests of Field Marshal Haftar.

He even accused the LNA commander of conspiring to steal billions of dollars and pay the hirelings he brought into Libya from other countries.

“They are making preparations to launch another war,” al-Gheriani said of Haftar.

He also asked Libyan voters to prevent the elections, if Haftar runs for president.

He asked Libyans to take to the streets and the squares to prevent the elections from being held.

He also called for closing the offices of the Election Commission across Libya and preventing the commission from performing its tasks.

In July this year, al-Ghariani incited western Libya militias to do everything possible to prevent the elections.