UN Envoy Unveils Details of Libya’s Election Initiative

The United Nations envoy in Libya revealed the details of the new initiative to hold the long-awaited elections.

Last month, Abdullah Batili announced a new initiative to break the deadlock in Libya by setting up a steering committee to conduct the elections.

Batelli said in a press conference in the capital, Tripoli, that the initiative aims to expand dialogue between the Libyan parties to break the current stalemate.

“The successive interim arrangements, endless transitional governments and outgoing legislative bodies are a source of instability,” Batelli said.

The UN envoy said the Libyan representatives would select a “high-level team”. He added that the United Nations Mission in Libya will facilitate negotiations to reach a compromise to hold the elections.

“There is no reason to delay the elections further… With good faith and determination, a clear roadmap for the elections may be put in place by mid-June,” he said.

The UN envoy indicated that the dispute still exists over the conditions for running for the presidential elections, despite the announcement by the heads of the House of Representatives in eastern Libya and the Supreme Council of State based in Tripoli that an agreement had been reached on the constitution. a permit.

Oil-rich Libya has been in turmoil since 2011 when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.

The situation has worsened since last year, when the Libyan Parliament appointed a new government led by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha. However, the head of the Tripoli-based government, Abdel Hamid Dbeiba, has said he will only cede power to a government that comes through an “elected parliament,” raising fears that Libya could slide back into civil war.