The UN envoy in Libya calls the dialogue with Haftar for the holding of elections “fruitful”

July 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The special representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, on Tuesday described as “fruitful” the dialogue he had with the Libyan general Khalifa Haftar, aligned with the authorities based in the east of the country, in relation to the holding elections.

“We have had fruitful discussions on the current political situation and we have agreed on the need to address controversial issues in electoral bills,” explained the UN envoy, who indicated that he had met with the commander-in-chief of the National Army of Libya in the city of Benghazi, in the northeast of the country.

For its part, the Libyan National Army has indicated, in a brief statement collected by the Libya Update news portal, that both have discussed “the political evolution in the Libyan scenario, underlining the need to promote the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections”. .

Bathily has stressed the “importance of the participation and acceptance of all relevant Libyan institutions and key parties to reach a political agreement that paves the way for successful and inclusive elections that meet the aspirations of the Libyan people.”

The also head of the UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) requested the previous day before the United Nations Security Council the “cooperation of all Libyan institutions and actors” to allow “resolving politically controversial issues and reaching a political agreement that opens the way to the success of the elections”.

“It is imperative that all Libyan stakeholders learn from the pitfalls and mistakes of 2021 and 2022, and refrain from any action, including unilateral or non-inclusive decisions, that could precipitate a crisis and divert attention from our common goal of enabling satisfactory elections in accordance with the wishes of the Libyan people,” Bathily added.

In mid-June, the head of UNSMIL recognized the efforts of the 6+6 Committee -created to finalize the electoral laws- “as an important step forward”, although he qualified that “it (is) not enough to resolve the most controversial and enable successful elections. Thus, he expressed his concern that the disputes in the electoral process “lead to a dead end”, which translates into “greater polarization and even destabilization of the country.”

The country is divided into two administrations after the House of Representatives terminated the mandate of the prime minister of unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé, for the postponement of the presidential elections in December 2021 and appointed Fazi Bashaga to the position, recently suspended from office and replaced by now Finance Minister Osama Hamad.

Dbeibé was elected as prime minister by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in February 2021, replacing the until then prime minister of unity, Fayez Serraj, who agreed to cede his powers after the consultation process, which began after a ceasefire agreement after the Tripoli authorities rejected the military offensive launched in April 2019 by General Khalifa Haftar, aligned with the authorities based in the east.