Tripoli – Libya – 07 – 12-2021.

Translated by: Wissal Khlifi

The Tripoli Court of Appeal issued a judicial ruling ; yesterday; to return Marshal Khalifa Haftar to the presedential

election race

the court rejected the appeal issued against Marshal Haftar by the Zawiya Court of First Instance due to the lack of spatial jurisdiction to consider the case.

At the time, the decision of the Zawiya Court had sparked a wide legal debate as the Court had no jurisdiction over electoral appeals. By virtue of the decision of the Supreme Judicial Council that the appeal should take place where the candidate submitted his or her candidacy papers being the Benghazi Court.

Haftar’s return was also preceded by his rival candidate Saif Islam Gaddafi’s return after the Sebha Court of Appeal issued a ruling in his favour; on the appeal filed against him by the Electoral Commission obliging it to return him to .the final list of candidates last Sunday evening.

Many observers had expressed their fear if those judicial battles continued between the competing camps and personalities, they would threaten the elections scheduled for this month, and with it the UN-backed peace process that is aiming at ending the division and chaos that has persistedsince the NATO military intervention that overthrew Muammar al-Qaddafi’s regime in 2011.