Elections only way to build a new Libya: UN envoy

TRIPOLI, Libya

A new Libya can only be built through an electoral process and the country’s future should not depend on the House of Representatives and High Council of State, the UN envoy for Libya said Sunday.

Abdoulaye Bathily made the remarks during a speech at the Forum of Elders and Dignitaries of Fezzan in the capital Tripoli, according to local media outlets.

Bathily said the UN mission was working to support Libyans to find solutions to the crisis without favoring one party over the other and that when a new government is elected, stability could prevail in the country.

He said the country's future should not depend on the House of Representatives and the High Council of State but on the aspirations of the people.

Calling on international and regional partners to support the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in its duty to establish stability and peace in Libya, Bathily noted that "the only way to build a new Libya is for elections to take place that will determine the members of parliament and the head of state.”

“Those who are demanding new transitional arrangements and governments only want to share the cake, and history will remember them as well," he added.

Libya’s elections were scheduled to be held in December 2021, but differences between political rivals over who should stand in the polls and other issues prevented the vote from taking place.

Last month, the 6+6 Joint Committee, formed by Libya's parliament and the High Council, announced an agreement on laws for holding the polls.

Some members of the two chambers, however, announced their opposition to the outcomes of the committee.

Libya has been torn by civil war and instability since the ouster of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Merve Berker