UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The UN special envoy to Libya warned on Friday that failure to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24 could lead to divisions and controversy and hamper efforts to reconcile the oil-rich North Africa after a decade of unrest.
Jan Kubis told the UN Security Council that “eliminating trials will be a signal to many that violence is the only way to govern the country.”
UN-backed peace talks led to a halt to the end of October between rival governments in eastern and western Libya and set up a small government expected to lead the country in the December elections, but the Libyan parliament has failed to finalize acceptable voting procedures.
Kubis said the House of Representatives adopted the presidential election law, and was told it was in the process of finalizing the parliamentary election law. He also said that the High Council of State, a major body that, among other things, provides electoral laws, complained that presidential election laws were enacted without consulting its members.
“The country and its people need enough information to hold elections on December 24,” Kubis told the television group. “The current instability provides a safe haven for dissidents and skeptics to address the problem in the face of political change, and to feed the existing tensions between various Libyan organizations and organizations.”
He asserted that the decision-making process, “even if it is not a good one, and with all the wrongs, is difficult and dangerous is more important than decisions that can only lead to division, instability and conflict.”
Many members of the Security Council have also called for elections to be held on December 24, the day the election of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, a body of 75 people from all walks of life, is approved by the Security Council.
UN Ambassador to France Nicolas De Riviere called on all Libyan leaders to “do their part to complete the task in a timely manner.” He added: “France will support any Libyan resolution adopted by the United Nations to better understand the electoral law.”
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey DeLaurentis says “Parties must agree on electoral law – urgently.” While it is fortunate that the project is progressing well, he said, “we encourage all efforts to support and establish partnerships.”
Libya has been embroiled in controversy since NATO-backed militants overthrew long-serving dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and divided the country between a UN-backed government in Tripoli and rival factions loyal to former leader Khalifa Hifter in the east. Each has been assisted by various armed groups as well as foreign governments.
Hifter launched the military in 2019 to seize the capital, a campaign sponsored by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France. But his trip to Tripoli failed in June 2020 after Turkey sent troops to support the government, which was also supported by Qatar and Italy. This paved the way for the October deal to end.
Kubis urged Libyan activists “to work together to ensure that the presidential, free, fair and presidential elections, which should be seen as an important part of stabilizing and uniting Libya.”
He said more than 500,000 new voters had registered recently, resulting in more than 2.8 million – 40% of the women. Most of these new voters are under the age of 30, he said, “showing that young people are interested in participating in the future of their country through democracy.”
Kubis said Libya needed to move “beyond the scenes of conflict and conflict and lasting change” to create a cohesive, stable and secure country that could focus on development. He added that the elections were “an important political and security precautionary measure to ensure that the positive developments in Libya from October 2020 continue.”
The ceasefire in October continues, Kubis said, but the continued presence of military personnel, foreign fighters and foreign troops who had to leave with the help of “is still a major problem in Libya and other countries.”
To help end the conflict, Kubis said the UN was still preparing to send the first team of 10 firefighters and paramedics today.
Just over 100 days before December 24, the UN envoy urged all countries and regional organizations to send election observers “to help ensure the integrity and credibility of the elections and the legitimacy of the results.”