Libya ready for polls despite disputes over laws: Elections chief

Imed al-Sayeh, head of country’s High National Election Commission, says Libya is ’80 or 90 percent ready’ for votes.

Preparations are almost done for polls in war-torn Libya, the head of the electoral commission says, despite wrangling over voting laws and warnings the outcome could be contested.

“We are 80 or 90 percent ready” for the presidential and parliamentary votes in December and January, Imed al-Sayeh, head of the country’s High National Election Commission (HNEC), said in an interview with the AFP news agency.

“I think there will be very strong turnout for these elections, especially as there will be direct presidential polls for the first time since Libya’s independence [in 1951],” he said at his office in Tripoli.