On Tuesday, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily met with the Qatari Ambassador to Libya, Khalid Mohammed bin Zabin Al Dosari in Tripoli.
During the meeting, the Ambassador affirmed Qatar’s support for the UN Envoy’s tasks in order to push forward the political process and ensure stability in Libya; praising his efforts to settle the outstanding differences.
He also reiterated Qatar’s “support for the political track, relevant Security Council resolutions, and all peaceful solutions that preserve Libya’s unity, stability, and sovereignty and achieve the aspirations of its people for development and prosperity.”
Last month, Bathily announced an initiative aimed at enabling legislative and Presidential elections this year, and will set up a high-level steering panel, he told the United Nations Security Council earlier this month.
The proposed mechanism will bring together all relevant Libyan stakeholders, including representatives of political institutions, major political figures, tribal leaders, civil society organisations, security actors, women, and youth representatives.
Bathily noted that the initiative will facilitate the adoption of the legal framework and time-bound roadmap to the holding of elections in 2023. The proposed panel will also “provide a platform to advance consensus around related matters, such as election security and the adoption of a Code of Conduct for all candidates,” he added.
Libya is currently facing a political crisis after the Libyan Parliament swore in a new Prime Minister, former Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha in February 2022. Members of Parliament argued that the incumbent Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba’s mandate expired when the elections failed to take place.
Dbaiba has refused to cede power, amid the fallout from a failed attempt to hold national elections in December 2021.
Libya has been locked in a political stalemate since late 2021, when the scheduled elections were canceled because of disputes over electoral laws. The eastern-based Parliament withdrew support from the Dbaiba government.
Peacemaking efforts since then have focused on reaching an agreement on a constitutional basis for elections, and voting rules.
