TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya will open registration on Monday for candidates in next month’s presidential and parliamentary elections, the country’s electoral commission said on Sunday.

“The commission will accept applications for running in the polls as of Monday,” Emad al-Sayeh, the head of the High National Election Commission, told a press conference in Tripoli.

He said applications for running in the presidential polls will be accepted until Nov. 22 and Dec. 7 for parliamentary polls.

Al-Sayeh said the presidential elections will be held on two rounds.

Libya’s presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on Dec. 24 under an agreement reached by Libyan political rivals in Tunisia on Nov. 15, 2020.

Libyans hope that the upcoming elections will contribute to ending an armed conflict that has plagued the oil-rich country for years.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara