Libyan PM, UN envoy discuss roadmap toward national elections

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah on Sunday held talks with a UN envoy to explore ways to move the country toward long-delayed national elections and end its political division.

Hanna Tetteh, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, briefed Dbeibah on a UN-backed roadmap aimed at unifying state institutions and preparing for direct elections, said the government's Hakomitna news platform.

She said the recent UN-sponsored "mini-dialogue" falls within the first phase of the roadmap, which focuses on finalizing electoral laws and forming the board of the High National Elections Commission.

Dbeibah reaffirmed his government's support for efforts that propose practical and implementable solutions to preserve the path toward a "civil state," and stressed the need to move along clear tracks that would lead to the completion of electoral laws and proceed directly to elections, with the aim of ending institutional division and respecting the will of voters.

For her part, Tetteh reiterated the UN mission's continued support for consensus-building among Libyan parties and for creating favorable conditions to ensure the success of the political process and the holding of comprehensive elections.

The meeting comes amid growing public debate over unconfirmed reports about an alternative roadmap involving the restructuring of the executive authority, which has been rejected by groups of activists in the city of Misrata, who view such proposals as a threat to national sovereignty.

Since the 2011 fall of its former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been split between the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the eastern administration backed by the Libyan National Army under commander Khalifa Haftar.