Libyans at UN talks agree to hold elections in December 2021

TUNIS – Libyans at United Nations-led talks have agreed to hold elections in December next year, said the world body yesterday.

Participants of the talks in Tunisia “agreed that national elections should take place on December 24, 2021”, acting UN envoy Stephanie Williams told journalists in a virtual press conference.

The US is convening discussions near here to hash out a deal for a new transitional government for the country, torn apart by conflict since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The administration will be charged with providing services and preparing for national polls, as well as tackling an economic crisis and a coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 900 people.

The political track of the talks comes in parallel with military discussions to fill in the details of a ceasefire deal last month that formally ended over a year of fighting between eastern and western Libyan forces.

The 75 delegates at the Tunisia talks were selected by the UN to represent existing institutions and the diversity of Libyan society, but some Libyans have questioned their credibility and criticised the way they were selected.

Analysts also fear that the government resulting from the talks could struggle to gain legitimacy and face pushback from members of existing institutions.

But, Williams said the momentum is against “status quo” actors “trying to maintain their current privileges”.

“The international community has tools at its disposal to prevent spoilers, including through the use of sanctions.”

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, which is helping to facilitate the talks, said the new government will not need a vote of confidence from Libya’s House of Representatives.

The assembly, elected in 2014, is based in Libya’s east and allied with military commander Khalifa Haftar, who launched an offensive in April last year to seize the capital, Tripoli, from a UN-recognised unity government.

Pro-unity government forces ended a bloody months-long stalemate in June by pushing Haftar’s forces back eastwards.

The two sides signed a landmark ceasefire agreement last month, setting the scene for renewed diplomatic efforts to reach a political settlement to the long-running conflict. – AFP, November 14, 2020