Libyan warlord Haftar temporarily leaves his post to run for presidency

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar assigned his forces' chief-of-staff to take his military post to prepare himself for running for the elections scheduled for Dec. 24, Libyan local media said on Wednesday.

The local news channel 218TV said Haftar assigned Abdel Razzaq al-Nadhouri to replace his post for only three months effective from Sept. 23 to Dec. 24.

No independent sources have yet confirmed the reports for Haftar's resignation.

On Sept. 8, the Libyan House of Representatives handed the Libyan new elections law to the UN special envoy to Libya which includes 77 articles that clarify the duties of the president along with the conditions and measures for voting or being a candidate.

The Tobruk-based parliament, headed by Aguila Saleh, made a no-confidence vote on Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh's government formed after UN-mediated talks between the Libyan rival parties in February.

The Libyan government and the High Council of State considered the Tobruk-based vote invalid as it contradicts the country’s political process mediated by the UN.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara.