Ban on military personnel running for office in Libya leads to standoff

TUNIS, Tunisia — The Tripoli-based High Council of State in Libya approved on Nov. 3 a decision to ban military personnel and dual nationals from running in the presidential elections in a move apparently directed at the military chief of eastern Libya, Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter.

The decision undermines the agreement reached Oct. 21 between the head of the High Council of State, Khalid al-Mishri, and the speaker of the rival Tobruk-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to unify the country’s executive power. The parliament, which is close to Hifter and his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), could still reject the decision to ban military personnel and dual nationals from running in the elections.