from AHMED ZAYED in Tripoli, Libya
TRIPOLI, (CAJ News) – LIBYA’S political stakeholders must agree on a constitutional base in order to meet a target of holding elections on December 24.
This has been the prevailing call at the meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) held in Switzerland.
Ján Kubiš, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the North African country and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) encouraged the parties to work towards an agreement.
The envoy’s sentiments followed consultations with representatives of France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the United States (P3+2 ).
He also had telephone conversations earlier with some other international partners including Russia, Morocco and Libyan high-level representatives to discuss progress made so far towards the implementation of the LPDF Roadmap.
The roadmap is in line with the Berlin II Conference Conclusions and the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2570 (2021).
The international partners encouraged all relevant Libyan actors, in particular, the LPDF members gathered in Switzerland to make progress on their pledges to facilitate holding the national elections on December 24 by developing a consensual proposal on the constitutional basis.
The international partners reiterated their support for holding the elections as stipulated in the LPDF Roadmap and for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement including the opening of the coastal road, as well as the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces promptly.
The elections are anticipated to bring stability to a country that has been in turmoil since 2011 when president Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and murdered when rebels backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) unleashed onslaught to the north African country.
France and the United States (US) are being accused of sponsoring insurgency in what the African Union (AU) described as ‘illegal’ intervention.
– CAJ News