UN calls on Libyan leaders to end transitional period

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, has called on Libyan leaders to put an end for the transitional period and to set the situation for holding elections.

Bathily made the call in a speech on the 71st anniversary of Libya's Independence Day, marked annually on December 24.

"This year, however, Independence Day feels bittersweet as it also marks the first anniversary of the postponement of general elections which were supposed to be held on 24 December 2021," Bathily said.

The UN envoy urged Libyans to make year 2023 as "a new era for the country, including through the holding of free and fair elections."

He also stressed that the UN will continue to work "constructively" with different Libyan parties and leaders "to prevent further division and avoid wasting more time."

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

The situation has worsened since last March when the Libyan parliament appointed a new government led by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, but head of the Tripoli-based government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, said he will cede authority only to a government that comes through an "elected parliament," raising fears that Libya could slip back into a civil war.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar