On Saturday, Niger’s President, Mohamed Bazoum, pleaded with the United Nations (UN) to proceed with holding the presidential election in Libya as planned on December 24th.
According to him, the election, which is supposed to turn a new page for Libya after a decade of conflict, represents a “crucial” step to restore peace in this country and in the Sahel.
The Nigerien President spoke from New York while presiding over the UN Security Council.
“The 24th of December deadline is crucial and my country hopes that the presidential election scheduled for that date will take place under good conditions and open the way to a dynamic of peace and stability,” explained Bazoum.
While the final list of candidates is still pending, the holding of the presidential elections in a few days’ time seems increasingly uncertain.
Notably, Libya is less than a month from presidential elections seen as crucial to ending its long-running civil war, but deep political divisions could provoke a delay or threaten to renew violence.
More than 2.8 million people are expected to cast their votes to choose a President in the 24th of December elections, as part of a roadmap adopted by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).
The parliamentary elections originally planned to be held simultaneously with the Presidential polls, have been postponed until January 2022.
Bazzoum’s Niger and Libya are linked by history and geography.
Last September, Bazoum received the Vice-President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Moussa Al Konni, to discuss his concerns over the issue of “migration, security and stability within the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).”
Libya, which borders Chad, another Sahel state, shares several hundred kilometres of a common border with Niger.
It is an area often exploited by arms and drug traffickers as well as illegal syndicates for irregular migration to Europe.