Photo UN/M. Elias Hannah Tetteh (on screen), Special Representative of the Secretary General and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, addresses the Security Council. (Archive) The UN Security Council welcomed the agreement to hold general elections in Libya Peace and Security
The UN Security Council welcomed the agreement between the rival administrations in Libya, calling it an “important step” towards the country’s first general presidential and parliamentary elections in more than a decade, and called on all parties to quickly move from declarations to real action.
In a statement, Council members praised the August 30 agreement reached by the Libyan parties within the so-called “narrow format” – a negotiating track created through the mediation of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
The document provides for the formation of a new leadership of the High National Election Commission of Libya and makes changes to the legal framework for parliamentary and presidential elections, which should take place within two years under the administration of a unified government. Tetteh.
The current situation between the rival administrations in the west and east of Libya dates back to 2011, when the regime of Muammar Gaddafi fell as a result of civil conflict and external military intervention. This has led to the collapse of state institutions, splits in the security forces and a struggle for legitimacy, power and an oil-rich economy.
In an interview with the UN News Service, Tetteh described the agreement as a step that “helped overcome problems that had stalled the process for years.” She added that the agreement gives the mission “an initial opportunity to work more proactively with the Libyan parties… and build confidence in the process we are pursuing together.”
The agreement resolves the most pressing issues that blocked the elections. Instead of holding separate negotiations with Libya’s two rival legislatures, Tetteh said, the UN mission brought together representatives of the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, the Libyan National Army command in the east and both houses of parliament to jointly resolve controversial issues.