Richard Norland, the U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, directly informed Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh, who is running for president in the December 24 elections, that candidates must campaign separately from their public position, according to a statement by the U.S. Embassy on Monday.
Norland arrived in Tripoli yesterday where he met with a number of senior officials, including UN Special Advisor for Libya Stephanie Williams and Imad al-Sayeh, chairman of Libya’s High National Election Commission (HNEC), the Embassy said.
The American diplomat also held talks with the Libyan premier to share “the US view that candidates campaign separately from their public position or office.”
Dbeibeh announced in late November that he will run for president despite being legally barred by Libyan law from doing so. Current election law requires officeholders to step down three months ahead of the vote. Furthermore, the Libyan premier signed a pledge to the U.N.-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) before he assumed power, in which he vouched not to run for public office in the upcoming elections.