UN Libya envoy urges ‘unified government’ for election in apparent shift
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United Nations Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said that “a unified government, agreed upon by the major players, is an imperative for leading the country to elections”, an apparent shift from an earlier position that elections should come first.
Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli has not been accepted by the eastern-based parliament since early 2021 after a failed attempt to have national elections.
The dangers of Libya’s unresolved conflict were apparent last week when armed factions battled in Tripoli, killing 55 people in the worst fighting there in years.
U.N. diplomacy in recent years had focused on the urgency of holding national elections despite differences, rather than replacing GNU Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and forming another interim government to oversee the vote.
“It’s a bad day for Dbeibah. The earth is shaking beneath his feet,” said Libya specialist Jalel Harchaoui of the Royal United Services Institution in London.
Bathily has been pushing the parliament, known as the House of Representatives, as well as a second consultative body with a say over major political issues called the High State Council, to finalise electoral laws.
