The international initiative to form a joint committee in Libya in order to lay a constitutional basis for holding the elections - which was postponed at the end of last year - was widely welcomed locally and internationally, in light of the presence of two governments in the country, the first sworn in before the House of Representatives on Thursday, and the second refuses to hand over Power is only for an elected government.

The President of the Supreme Council of State, Khaled Al-Mashri, welcomed the proposal of the United Nations Counsellor, Stephanie Williams, to form a joint committee between the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of the State to develop a consensual constitutional rule, while there was no comment from the House of Representatives regarding the UN proposal.

Yesterday, Friday, the UN Adviser to Libya called on the Supreme Council of State and the House of Representatives to choose 6 representatives for each of them to form the joint committee, and Williams said in a series of tweets on Twitter that she is waiting for a quick response from the two houses to the initiative, so that the committee will meet on March 15.

As a result of differences between the Libyan political institutions, it was not possible to hold the presidential elections on December 24 last, according to a plan sponsored by the United Nations.

The Supreme Council of State said that the initiative of the UN chancellor "is a clear response to the request of the Council, which approved a full constitutional base last September."

Dabaiba: The United Nations initiative is consistent with my government's plan to hold elections next June (Getty)

Election priority

The Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, also welcomed the UN initiative, saying that it included the priority of proceeding with the electoral process, and the European statements supporting it came in line with the government's plan to hold elections next June.

As for the new Prime Minister-designate from the House of Representatives, Fathi Bashagha, he issued a statement welcoming the international support for the UN initiative, adding, yesterday, Friday, that his government’s mission is “to hold elections without any delay and in all transparency, in order to achieve the desire of 2.8 million voters.”

The President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Muhammad Al-Manfi, said - in a statement yesterday, Friday - that he supports the launch of a political dialogue that establishes the holding of general elections on an agreed constitutional basis.

The international initiative also won the support of a number of personalities and parties in Libya.

pentagonal statement

At the international level, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy welcomed the UN initiative, declaring their full support for Libyan sovereignty and the political process facilitated by the UN.

A joint statement of the five countries urged all Libyan stakeholders, including the House of Representatives and the state, to cooperate with these efforts, and in the next steps for the transition as proposed by the United Nations.

In a statement on Friday, the European Union called on all political actors in Libya to "refrain from taking measures that would deepen divisions and undermine stability," and the bloc expressed its full support for the UN adviser's proposal.

The new international initiative came, after fears escalated that the country would slide back into civil war and political division, following the inauguration of the House of Representatives on Thursday, Bashagha, as the head of a new government, instead of Dabaiba.


Bashagha accuses

Bashagha, a former interior minister, accused Dabaiba of trying to obstruct the swearing-in ceremony of the new government before the House of Representatives by suspending air traffic from Tripoli to prevent members of the new government from flying to Tobruk, where the House of Representatives is located.

An armed group loyal to Dabaiba detained 3 members of the Bashagha government before releasing two of them on Friday. The issue is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hafez Kaddour and Culture, Salha Toumi.

On the other hand, Dabaiba refuses to hand over power except to a government that comes through popular elections, threatening to use force in the event of an attempt to seize his headquarters, while armed groups loyal to Bashagha have also mobilized for days in the country.

Months ago, Libya witnessed a political breakthrough. On March 16, 2021, an elected transitional authority comprising a unity government and a presidential council assumed its duties to lead the country to elections, under the auspices of the United Nations, before tensions renewed in the country, due to political differences between the political parties.