On Sunday, the Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Stephanie Williams, held a meeting with a group of mayors from across Libya. She briefed them on the progress of the political, military, and economic tracks of the intra-Libyan talks.
During the meeting, the mayors voiced their appreciation for the update but urged Williams to accelerate the transition towards national elections. They also insisted on the speedy implementation of a decentralization process to meet the basic needs of the Libyan people.
Earlier today, UNSMIL announced new proposals for the voting mechanism on the (Second and Third Options) that were selected by Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) participants to elect a new executive authority in the country.
In a letter to the LPDF circulated on media outlets, UNSMIL said voting would begin today to select the mechanism for nominating members of the Presidential Council, and a Prime Minister. It provided two proposals: First – two thirds of the LPDF votes and 50% +1 from each Libyan region (Tripoli, Fezzan and Cyrenaica). The second option is: 61% of LPDF votes and 50% +1 from each region.
The new proposals came after the failure of the previous method of 75% of the LPDF votes. This came amid protests to the new amendment by a number of participants claiming that the 65% criterion caused them to miss a very important vote in the previous days. They urged the rejected option to be up for debate again, now that UNSMIL has proposed new rules.