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On Tuesday, Congolese Foreign Minister, Jean-Claude Gakosso, who chairs the African Union’s (AU) High-Level Committee on Libya, is set to attend Libya’s preparatory national reconciliation conference. This will be held in Tripoli, on 8 January, under the auspices of the Libyan Presidential Council.
Gakosso recently visited Libya, and held talks with local parties within the framework of paving the way for the national reconciliation conference.
Talks about setting a new date for elections have come again to the fore, especially after Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba said his government is ready to hold general elections in 2023.
“The Government and the Elections Commission are fully prepared to hold the national elections in Libya,” Dbaiba said during a cabinet meeting.
The PM also stressed that his government’s priorities include achieving development, and avoiding armed conflict and war.
Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021, due to disagreements over election laws among rival parties. The country is currently divided between a government appointed by the eastern-based Parliament, and the Tripoli-based government led by Dbaiba.
The Parliament has repeatedly called on Dbaiba to step down, after failing to hold the elections, saying his mandate had expired.
Abdoulaye Bathily, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, on Saturday expressed hope that elections would be held in 2023.
“I hope 2023 will be a year to make up for lost opportunities and find a lasting solution that paves the way for holding elections and building sustainable peace and prosperity in Libya,” Bathily said.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, the country has been struggling to make a democratic transition, amid escalating violence and political division.