On Sunday, the Libyan Parliament-designated Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha called on Arab states to support a Libyan-Libyan settlement, to pave the way for electing a unified executive authority in the country.
“I call on our Arab brothers to support the unity of the country and reconciliation between the Libyans and to support the Libyan-Libyan settlement that will lead to an elected authority that represents the will of the Libyan people,” Bashagha tweeted on Sunday.
The PM hailed the decision of some Arab countries to not participate in the consultative meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers, hosted by the Government of National Unity (GNU).
“We thank Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the General Secretariat of the Arab League for their refusal to participate in the play that the outgoing government tried to market,” he added.
Bashagha called on Algeria and Tunisia, who did attend the Tripoli conference, to “reconsider their foreign policy towards Libya.”
Notably, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Libya, and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, said that the time has come for the elections to proceed towards building legitimate institutions and creating appropriate conditions for achieving stability.
He called on all Libyan stakeholders to come together and find ways to overcome their differences so that Libya can – once again – play a leading role as an African-Arab country, as part of the Mediterranean, and as an active member of the United Nations family.
Bathily called on all international stakeholders including Libya’s neighbours to speak with one voice and step up their support to Libya to help this country to overcome its long-term crisis.
“Over a year ago, 2.8 million Libyans registered to vote. This shows the will and determination of the Libyan people to choose their representatives, restore legitimacy to their institutions and chart their way forward to stability through a democratic political process,” the UN Envoy said.
On 10 February 2022, the Libyan Parliament announced the unanimous appointment of Fathi Bashagha as the new Prime Minister. But outgoing PM Abdul-Hamid Dbaiba warned that the appointment of a new interim government could lead to war and chaos in the country. He renewed his pledge to only hand power over to an elected government.
The Prime Minister of Libya’s GNU, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba reiterated that he will “remain in office until elections are held, and will hand over power to an elected government.”
Last week, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Ageela Saleh said that “the constitutional declaration is the legal basis for ending the current political blockage.” He called for all articles of the constitutional document to be put to a referendum, after being agreed upon by the Parliament and the High Council of State (HCS).