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Libya's election commission calls for month postponement

Libya's parliament said it would be "impossible" to hold elections as planned on Dec. 24.
MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images

Libya’s electoral commission has suggested moving the long-awaited presidential election to Jan. 24 after a parliamentary committee acknowledged it would be “impossible” to hold the polls in two days' time.

The UN-sponsored, Western-backed election was meant to reunite Libya a decade after the toppling of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The vote was originally planned for Dec. 24, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of Libya’s independence. But with days to go, Libya’s rival entities have yet to agree on a legal framework for the elections or a final list of approved candidates. 

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