The Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, said that the situation on the ground in Libya was “not excellent.” He confirmed that “the international community is fully aware that the Libyan people want elections” scheduled for December 24th.
Di-Maio renewed the warning that without elections, there is a risk of instability in Libya. He added that with instability the risk of terrorism and unmanaged immigration increases.
Last week, Di-Maio called on the Libyan parties to reach a consensus on holding the upcoming elections.
These remarks came especially after the Tobruk-based parliament withdrew confidence yesterday from the interim Government of National Unity (GNU) headed by Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba.
The Italian top diplomat, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meetings in New York that said, “the Libyan elections are becoming increasingly important to avoid dragging the North African country into a new wave of violence and instability.”
The French Foreign Minister also called for the “departure of foreign forces and mercenaries”, who are still there in Libya despite a halt to the fighting at the end of August 2021 and a permanent ceasefire agreement signed in October 2020.
According to the United Nations (UN), there were still 20,000 of them on Libyan soil in December 2020. This includes several hundred Turkish soldiers present since a bilateral agreement was concluded with the former government.
Notably, the Presidency of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) invited the members to attend a session to discuss the draft law on the election of the new parliament. The Parliament Presidency has set next Monday for a session to discuss the law.
Earlier in September, parliament determined the roles and responsibilities of the upcoming president, as the upcoming December elections approach.
Parliament sent a copy of the draft to the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ján Kubiš. The powers and prerogatives of the President were set in eleven articles.
The President’s competencies included selecting the Prime Minister, and assigning him to form a government, as well as being able to dismiss the Prime Minister. He is also given the power to choose a Vice President, provided that the Vice President and Prime Minister are from different regions than the President.
The President has been granted the power to perform the duties of the Supreme Commander of the Libyan Army, appoint and dismiss the Head of the General Intelligence Service, after approval of the parliament. The President also has the right to appoint Ambassadors and representatives of Libya to international organizations, based on the proposal of the Foreign Minister.
The prerogatives also included the issuance of laws approved by parliament within a month. The President also has the right to conclude international agreements and treaties, which must be ratified by parliament.
The law grants the President the ability to declare a state of emergency after the approval of the UN National Security Council, provided that it is referred to the Parliament for approval within a period not exceeding ten days.