The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has announced the list of candidates for the new transitional government that will oversee preparations for a national election at the end of this year.

According to the UN list released on Saturday, 24 candidates are vying for the presidential council post while 21 others will compete for the post of prime minister.

Those running for the transitional government posts had one week until 28 January to submit their nominations.

"The Mission extends its heartfelt appreciation for the efforts of the three-person verification committee, drawn from the membership of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF), to review the candidates’ applications in line with the eligibility criteria consensually agreed upon by the LPDF in Tunis," the UNSMIL statement said.

Among the leading candidates were the commander of the joint operations room in the Libyan army during the aggression on Tripoli, Osama jweli, the head of the High Council of State, Khaled al-Mishri, member of the former General National Congress, Sharif al-Wafi, the current Defense Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Salah al-Din al-Nimroush, the Speaker of the Tobruk-based Parliament, Aqila Saleh, the Libyan ambassador to Jordan, Muhammad al-Barghati, and the resigned Presidential Council member, Musa al-Koni.

While the most prominent candidates vying for the post of prime minister include Ahmed Maiteeq, the current vice president of the PC, businessman Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, former Minister of Education in the GNA Othman Abdel Jalil, the GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, and the GNA Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport Hisham Abu Shakiwat.