Libyan presidential election postponed

Libya's presidential election will not take place as planned this week, with the country's electoral commission HNEC today recommending a month-long postponement.

HNEC said it is unable to hold the poll on 24 December, citing the inadequacy of legislation that has resulted in the absence of a final candidates' list. It said the country's House of Representatives legislative body must set a new date, and it recommended 24 January.

The development is a major blow for the prospect of peace and security returning to Libya, which has been fractured since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown a decade ago. The country's crude production has been severely affected in that time by war damage and social unrest, and at one point its exports dried up entirely.

Although the situation is not as bad now, just this week around 300,000 b/d of production was shut in at oil fields in the western part of the country and state-owned NOC declared force majeure on crude exports from the ports of Zawia and Mellitah. The UN this week said it was concerned that the presence of militia in the capital, Tripoli, raised the prospect of renewed conflict. A deadline to remove foreign troops and mercenaries from Libya passed unfulfilled in January this year.

Unification of the state and its institutions appears key to Libya's prospects for economic recovery, which would be centred on its energy industry. Governance of the oil sector has this year contended with feuding between NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla and the head of the recently reconstituted oil ministry, Muhammad Aoun, and political stability will be needed to attract the sort of foreign investment required for the country to reach its goal of boosting crude capacity to 2.1mn b/d within four years. Argus pegged Libyan crude output at 1.12mn b/d in November.

By Ben Winkley