The United States, France, Germany, Italy and Britain, in a joint statement on Friday, rejected any measure that might lead to division in Libya, such as the establishment of parallel institutions or the seizure of power by force.

A statement issued on Thursday by the foreign ministries of the five European countries and the United States said that Libya needs "a unified government capable of governing and holding elections throughout the country."

The signatories to the statement also said that they welcomed the progress made in the talks between the joint committee of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State in Cairo facilitated by the United Nations mission in Libya, and called on the two chambers to “urgently finalize the legal basis,” as this would “enable the holding of elections.” credible, transparent and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

Constitutional framework

The joint European-American statement comes a day after Stephanie Williams, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General in Libya, announced that a meeting will be held in Geneva next week (on Tuesday and Wednesday) between the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aqila Saleh, and the Speaker of the Supreme Council, Khaled Al-Mashri, in an attempt to find an agreement on a constitutional framework for conducting The election.

A joint committee of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of the State concluded talks last Sunday in Cairo in order to agree on the constitutional framework regulating elections, after the failure to hold the presidential elections on December 24, 2021 due to a dispute between state institutions over the constitutionality of the laws regulating the electoral process.

2/1 I am pleased to confirm that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aguila Saleh, and the President of the Supreme Council of State, Mr. Khaled Al-Mashri, have accepted my invitation to meet at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva from June 28-29 in order to discuss the draft constitutional framework on the elections.

— Stephanie Turco Williams (@SASGonLibya) June 23, 2022

The Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, welcomed the joint US-European statement on Libya.

Dabaiba expressed his satisfaction with the joint statement's compatibility with the position of the United Nations, which resolved the issue of the Libyan parties' continuation of the work of the Libyan parties in accordance with the decisions of the political agreement, and what was stipulated on the importance of carrying out elections in accordance with a constitutional rule.

Dabaiba reiterated his commitment to continuing the policy of disclosure and transparency regarding government spending, and for there to be a clear national mechanism for this.

Bashagha welcomes

The Prime Minister-designate from the Libyan House of Representatives, Fathi Bashagha, also welcomed the joint US-European statement, especially with regard to the call for a unified Libyan government capable of governing and holding elections throughout the country.

Bashagha clarified in a tweet that he welcomed the statement in his capacity as the head of that government supported by the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of the State.

Bashagha also expressed his "look forward to working side by side with those countries and Arab and African friends to rebuild Libya and lead it to national elections as soon as possible."

Libya is experiencing the crisis of the presence of two competing governments, the first in Tripoli, which came according to a political agreement a year and a half ago headed by Dabaiba, and a government headed by Bashagha, appointed by Parliament last February, and granting it confidence last March, and based in Sirte in central Libya. Temporarily, after being prevented from entering Tripoli, despite her attempt to do so.

The period of work on the road map that brought the government of Dabaiba expired a year and a half ago, but the latter refuses to hand over power to Bashagha and insists on handing it over to an elected government.