The official Spokesperson for Libya’s House of Representatives (HoR), Abdullah Blaiheg, stated that the Speaker of the HoR, Ageela Saleh, praised the firm positions of Egypt in adhering to the legitimacy of the Libyan people.
According to Blaiheg, Saleh affirmed Egypt’s keenness to preserve the unity of Libya and to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in fulfillment of the will of the Libyan people and the total rejection of foreign interference.
Saleh also thanked and appreciated the leadership, government and people of the Arab Republic of Egypt for standing with Libya and its people.
On Thursday, the Spokesperson for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zeid, expressed Cairo’s regret over the “United Nations (UN) Security Council’s support of initiatives aiming at undermining the role of legitimate Libyan institutions.”
The initiative was launched by the UN Special Envoy for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, in his brief before the Security Council last month. The initiative aims at forming a High-level Steering Panel to follow up and prepare for the electoral process in Libya.
In press statements to the Middle East News Agency, Abu Zeid described the Security Council’s move as “a clear violation of the role of the legitimate and elected Libyan institutions.”
The Egyptian diplomat expressed his “deep astonishment at the Security Council’s support for vague and unspecified initiatives and objectives, in an attempt to legitimise their work.”
He also denounced the use of “loose formulations such as ‘security actors’, which opens room for interpretation and contradiction with the relevant Security Council resolutions,” according to Middle East News Agency.
“All this would increase the division and rivalry in Libya, and undermine the chances of holding Presidential and Parliamentary elections as soon as possible, within the framework of a Libyan national consensus,” he explained.
Earlier, the Libyan Parliament and its designated government denounced the new political initiative.
