Libya's armed factions agreed to form unified army
The meeting between al-Nazuri and his counterpart from the opposing forces, Mohammed Al-Haddad, Chief of General Staff of the National Unity Government, is the first since 2014.
According to acting Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Abdulrazzak al-Nazuri, commanders of opposing armed forces met on Saturday in the Libyan city of Sirte and agreed to unite troops.
The meeting between al-Nazuri and his counterpart from the opposing forces, Mohammed Al-Haddad, Chief of General Staff of the National Unity Government, is the first since Libya was de-facto separated into East and West in 2014.
According to the Libyan Al-Hadath TV channel, al-Nazuri said, "We, the military, agreed to unite the army. Hopefully, it will happen soon without any meddling with our military affairs. We are waiting for the 5+5 Committee to join our meetings," adding that "the meetings will be regular without any foreign interference."
Both sides' military forces were "far from political disagreements and political parties," according to the commander.
Libya postpones release of the presidential election candidate list
On Saturday, Libya's electoral commission postponed the release of the final candidate list for the presidential election, which is set to take place in less than two weeks.
The electoral commission has not set a new date for the release of the final candidate list, which is supposed to signal the official start of the campaign.
The commission must publish the list of candidates two weeks after final court judgments and appeals relating to candidacies, according to the rules governing the election.
Libyan High Council of State calls for postponing elections
On December 8, The High Council of State in Libya had called for postponing the December 24 presidential elections until February, amid growing differences over the rules and legal basis for voting aimed at ending the 10-year instability, that started following the NATO intervention in the country.
The statements of the High Council -- an advisory body established under the Libyan political agreement of 2015 that is not recognized by all political entities in the country -- came less than three weeks before the elections.
Debate rages on the extent of the powers of the High Council of State in the complex Libyan political arena, but the HC's statement raises the doubts surrounding the conduct of the elections.