UN envoy urges Security Council to pressure Libya for stalled elections

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - UN envoy for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily on Monday urged the Security Council to put pressure on all relevant actors to demonstrate the required political will for the long-awaited elections in the war-torn country.

Efforts continue to get political leaders in Libya to overcome their differences to hold the stalled presidential and parliamentary elections since December 2021.

In his briefing to the 15-member UN Security Council, Bathily said that it is now crucial that steps are taken to overcome the persistent disagreements over longstanding issues to avoid "gloomy prospect" for the people of Libya and the region.

He urged Libya's decision-makers to act in a spirit of compromise.

"Without such compromises, the contested issues are likely to take the electoral process into a cul de sac, like in 2021, resulting in further polarization and destabilization of the country," Bathily said.

"Successful elections require not just a legal framework, but also a political agreement that ensures buy-in and inclusion of all major stakeholders".

He said that he intends to intensify negotiations and convene major stakeholders or their trusted representatives to reach a final settlement on the most contentious issues, make the draft laws implementable and enable successful elections.

He also warned that the conflict in Sudan has raised concerns about its potential destabilizing effects on Libya, specifically regarding a potential influx of refugees and cross-border movements of armed elements.

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 East Libya-based parliament appointed a new government led by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, but Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, one of the two figures claiming power and authority in Libya, insists 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.