Libya’s prime minister of unity says elections are “the way to end the transition period”

2023-07-17 06:48:18

MADRID, 17 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Prime Minister of Libyan unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé, stated this Sunday before the special representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, that the holding of the elections in the country will guarantee the end of the transition period.

“The elections are the only way to meet the needs of the Libyan people to end the transition period and go directly to the elections in accordance with fair laws,” said Dbeidé, as collected in a statement from the press team of the Libyan government.

For his part, Bathily reported that at the meeting they discussed the political situation and Human Rights in Libya, as well as how to achieve “satisfactory” elections.

“I have underlined the importance of preserving social cohesion for the stability and prosperity of Libya, and to allow the holding of national elections,” said the head of the UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Likewise, he stressed that both have agreed that “all actors must work with a spirit of compromise to make the democratic aspirations of the Libyan people a reality.”

This meeting takes place days after Bathily met with Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, aligned with the authorities based in the east of the country, with whom he held, as he asserted, a “fruitful” dialogue.

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 ended 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.