A senior US official visiting Tripoli on Wednesday called on Libyan leaders to “seize the best opportunity in a decade” to end the conflict with elections scheduled for December.
Libya now has “the best opportunity in a decade to end the conflict, advance the economy, and lay the foundations for a stable democratic society,” said Derek Chollet, US State Department adviser, during a press briefing in Tripoli.
“The United States will continue to support this vital process,” promised the American official after his talks with Libyan officials.
Libya is trying to extricate itself from a decade of violence and power struggles. After a ceasefire agreement between rival authorities, concluded in October 2020, a unified and transitional government was installed under the leadership of the UN in early 2021 to lead the country to a presidential and legislative ballot announced for December 24. But divisions quickly resurfaced, making these elections more and more hypothetical.
The signing, on September 8, by the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh, of the law relating to the election of the Head of State, without going through a vote, aroused the anger of the High Council of State ( HCE) – which acts as the Senate – and several deputies who denounced this “unilateral” approach.
“The recent Parliament proposal is a solid basis for discussion,” Chollet told reporters, referring to this controversial law, encouraging the President of Parliament and that of the HCE to “move forward, without delay, on the means of move things forward.”
According to Mr. Chollet, the legal framework “must be completed” to allow the electoral campaign to start.
“We ask only one thing of the Libyan leaders: that they contribute constructively to what is proposed rather than rejecting it by offering nothing in return. It is an important moment and the Libyan leaders must seize it, ”he said.
Mr. Chollet was first received by the interim Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, before meeting with Moussa al-Koni and Abdallah al-Lafi, two vice-presidents of the Presidential Council, and the director of the High Electoral Commission, Emad al-Sayeh.