Some of the supporters of the commander of the Dignity Operation, General Khalifa Haftar, destroyed the boards of the elections centres in the city of Benghazi on Friday.

The group wanted to send out a message that they are against the elections, calling the Libyans not to register an participate in voting.

The group chanted against the elections in Benghazi and called for mandating Haftar to become the president of Libya without votes.

In an official reaction, the head of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC), Emad Al-Sayeh, said that what happened in Benghazi was against the law. He added that the action was shocking, “but we would communicate with security devices to know who was behind this subversive act”.

Observers raised a question about the relationship of Haftar with this action, does it mean that Haftar’s coup had started before 17th of this month?

Who would cooperate with the HNEC and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in the eastern side of Libya for holding the elections?

The observers stressed that this action is disastrous because Haftar and his followers are standing behind it.

One of the activists in Benghazi described mandating Haftar as a farce, adding that the UNSMIL would do nothing towards the action, it would be ignored as it had ignored the massacre of Al-ABiar in Benghazi and also in Derna.

On the other side, Haftar’s media office had denied any relationship with the action.

The media office stressed that the ones who had destroyed the election boards are Libyan citizens who have no ties with Haftar’s army.

Commenting on that, observers said that even if Haftar hadn’t ordered the group to do the action, Haftar is the primary responsible because he controls the eastern side of Libya.

Other observers compared this action in Benghazi to the civil movement in the city of Derna, where the authorities started the preparations for voting registrations despite the blockade on the city.

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