New UN initiatives to solve the crisis in Libya.. Will elections save the situation?

The political situation in Libya continues to worsen as no solutions are found to complete the country’s map and stability by calling for legislative and presidential elections in the country. This comes at a time when the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to Libya, Abdoulay Bathily, called on the House of Representatives and the State Council in Libya to “deal in good faith” to reach a road map for elections by mid-June. Clarifying his initiative to hold Libyan elections, he added, “This new commitment will put the two councils to the test, and they will be responsible to Libya and the international community.”

Constitutional amendment

Bathily praised what he called the “rapid pace” at which the House of Representatives and the State adopted the 13th Constitutional Amendment, agreeing to assign a six-member committee from each to discuss electoral laws.

Regarding the UN support for the previous steps, Bathily said that the high-level team, which was proposed to be formed during its briefing to the UN Security Council last month, will provide support for the 6+6 Commission both in human and logistical terms, as well as support the Electoral Commission. Regarding the advantage of this high-level team over previous commissions, he said that it is a “new way to ensure Libyan ownership of the electoral process, where it will work dynamically with all parties to hold inclusive, safe and fair elections this year.”

Conduct of elections

Bathily laid out conditions for completing elections that have been stalled for years, saying that beyond the legal and constitutional means necessary, they need to “improve the security environment,” “guarantee the freedom of movement of candidates,” “commit to free competition,” and “agree to accept the electoral process and its results.” Bathily seeks to exploit the international consensus for holding presidential and parliamentary elections.

Solutions Offered

Dr. Mohamed Al Zubaidi, a Libyan political analyst, says that recently international officials have made repeated statements about the need to hold general elections by the end of this year, pointing out that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) assured all parties that the key to a solution lies in the hands of the Libyans.

It is necessary for some external parties to stop attempts to adapt the political process in Libya according to their interests, he added; It is the responsibility of all of Libya’s partners to provide support to our Libyan brothers; “To reach the consensus required by themselves and on their own, no party inside Libya should be allowed to hijack the political process through a policy of fait accompli.”