The new round of Libyan consultations continues in Morocco, which may lead to understandings about the criteria for selecting candidates for sovereign positions, while the deadline for the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries from Libya ends on Saturday.

After progress was made towards a political solution to the Libyan crisis by agreeing on a mechanism for selecting members of the next executive authority, the fifth round of Libyan consultations on sovereign positions began yesterday in the Moroccan city of Bouznika between the delegations of the Supreme Council of State held in Tripoli and the House of Representatives held in Tobruk (eastern Libya) , And is assumed to last two days.

The closed sessions continue within these consultations, known as "13 + 13", and may conclude today, but may be extended to tomorrow, Sunday, according to one of the participants in the talks sponsored by the United Nations.

Al-Jazeera correspondent reported, quoting members of the two participating delegations, that the members of the two delegations should crown their consultations with the announcement of comprehensive understandings regarding the mechanisms for assuming sovereign positions stipulated in Article 15 of the 2015 Skhirat Agreement.

These members said that if this was not possible for them, the file of the sovereign positions would be referred to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

In statements to reporters in Bouznika, a member of the Supreme Council of State, Omar Abu Leifa, confirmed the agreement during the first day of consultations on most of the criteria for selecting sovereign positions, indicating that the meetings will continue today and perhaps until tomorrow Sunday to agree on some outstanding issues.

For his part, Member of Parliament Muhammad Al-Raeed said that the overall criteria for selecting sovereign positions and the time for running for them will be announced today. He added that among the criteria adopted for selecting sovereign positions is competence, and excluding the current occupants of these positions.

According to the Skhirat Agreement, the Libyan sovereign positions that are being negotiated are the governor of the Central Bank of Libya, the head of the Audit Bureau, the head of the Administrative Control Authority, as well as the head of the Anti-Corruption Commission, the head and members of the High Electoral Commission, as well as the President of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General.

Geneva tour

The consultations will be held in the Moroccan city of Bouznika, while the attention of the Libyans turns to the next meeting of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to vote on candidates for membership of the executive authority, which will manage the country's affairs during a transitional period that ends with the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 24th.

After the participants in the Libyan Dialogue Forum last Tuesday approved, by a large majority, the criteria for selecting members of the executive authority (the Presidential Council and the government), voting for the candidates will take place in early February in Geneva.

The UN mission in Libya said in a statement on its Twitter account that the deadline for nominations for membership of the executive authority ends on the 28th of this month.

The withdrawal of mercenaries

Meanwhile, the 90-day deadline set by the ceasefire agreement in Libya for the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries from the country expires today.

Despite the urgent international calls in this regard, the most recent of which was the invitation issued by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres and 5 Western countries, including the United States, there have been no indications of a near withdrawal of the mercenaries from Libya, whose number is estimated by the United Nations at about 20,000.

Indeed, officials of the Government of National Accord confirm that the mercenaries who are fighting with the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar are strengthening their deployment in Sirte (450 kilometers east of Tripoli), Al-Jufrah and others, noting that Russian cargo planes have recently transported numbers of Sudanese Janjaweed mercenaries to the Al-Jufra air base in central Libya.

In the context, the Libyan Joint Military Committee (5 + 5) called on the countries participating in the Berlin conference to implement their commitments to the Libyan crisis, which include deporting foreign fighters to their countries.

The statement of the Military Committee coincides with the end of the deadline specified in the ceasefire agreement for the withdrawal of mercenaries from Libya.

For his part, the representative of the Government of National Accord in the Military Committee, Muhammad Naqasa, expressed his optimism about the implementation of the agreement and the opening of the coastal road between the cities of Misurata and Sirte as soon as possible.

The Anadolu news agency quoted a shortcoming that the opening of the road will start after the next committee meeting in Sirte.