Oct. 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations envoy and Head of the Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, warned this Monday in his first briefing before the UN Security Council that “the political stalemate continues” in the country, while he stressed that the solution to the crisis “must come from within, based on the will of the Libyan people.”
“The political stalemate persists and there is no clear end in sight to the prolonged stalemate over the executive,” Bathily told the Council.
“Furthermore, efforts to resolve outstanding issues related to the constitutional basis of the elections do not seem to lead to concrete action on the part of the relevant actors, further delaying the prospects for holding inclusive, free and fair elections aimed at to put an end to the transition and restore the legitimacy of the institutions”, lamented the special envoy.
Likewise, the head of UNSMIL has reiterated to “all interlocutors” that “the solution to the crisis must come from within Libya, based on the will of the Libyan people”, in response to “the almost unanimous condemnation throughout the specter of the presence of mercenaries (…) and the incessant foreign interference”.
Bathily, who arrived in the country this month, has prioritized consultations with political and civil society representatives, with the aim of “designing a response to these daunting political challenges.”
“The situation in Libya demands a process of relegitimation of the consensual state. Legitimate institutions capable of satisfying the basic needs of the people must be established on the basis of a genuine political will. In this process, the holding of legislative and presidential elections is paramount”, has declared.
In this line, the also Senegalese diplomat has urged the Libyan leaders to “listen to the aspirations of the people for peace, stability, economic development and receptive leadership”.
The special envoy arrived in Tripoli on October 14 to examine first-hand the political crisis gripping the country, once again divided into parallel administrations.
The House of Representatives, based in the east of the country, ended last year the mandate of the Prime Minister of the Government of Tripoli, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé, due to the postponement of the December presidential elections and ended up appointing Fazi Bashaga, in the beginning of a conflict that has spread to the country’s energy sector, absolutely essential to sustain the economy of a nation ruined after years of civil war.
It should be remembered that Bashaga has tried to take control of Tripoli on two occasions — on July 22, clashes left 16 dead and around 50 wounded — before giving up to avoid a serious armed struggle, although the clashes have continued ever since.
