UN envoy, election chief discuss preparations for Libya polls

By Walid Abdullah

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – UN Special Adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, met on Sunday with election commission chief Emad El-Sayeh to discuss preparations for the country’s polls.

The two sides agreed on providing support to Libya’s High National Election Commissions (HNEC) “to keep it ready to hold” the polls, the commission said in a statement.

Williams and El-Sayeh reviewed the situation related to consensus among Libyan parties on holding the elections in the near future, the statement said.

On Friday, the UN adviser said representatives of the Tobruk-based parliament and Tripoli-based High Council of State, which acts as a senate, will participate in the second round of Egypt-hosted talks on May 15 to agree on constitutional arrangements for holding the polls.

The first round of the discussions was held in the Egyptian capital Cairo last month under UN auspices.

Meanwhile, Khalid al-Mishri, the head of the High Council of State, is set to visit Cairo later Sunday for talks with Egyptian officials, a council member told Anadolu Agency.

Tension has mounted in Libya since parliament in March gave confidence to a new government headed by Fathi Bashagha, a former interior minister, while Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh insists on remaining at his post as the country's prime minister.

Libyans are waiting for the stalled elections to take place in the hope that the vote will contribute to ending years of armed conflict that has plagued the oil-rich country.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar