Libyan parliament says it is ‘impossible’ to hold presidential vote

Demonstrators protest in Tripoli, Libya, in opposition to parliament passing a vote of no-confidence in the transitional government (Yousef Murad/AP)

A Libyan parliamentary committee has said it has become “impossible” to hold a long-awaited presidential vote in two days as scheduled, in a big blow to international efforts to end a decade of chaos in the oil-rich north African country.

It was the first official statement that the vote would not happen on Friday, although it had been widely expected amid mounting challenges and calls for a delay. For nearly a year, the election was the linchpin of international efforts to bring peace to Libya, and many have warned that either scenario — holding the vote on time or postponing it — could be a destabilising setback.