The Libyan delegate to the Security Council, Taher Al-Sunni, said that certain international powers fear the idea of elections in Libya, while the United Nations called on the Libyans to exercise restraint and address issues through peaceful dialogue.
This came during a session of the UN Security Council held at the UN Permanent Headquarters in New York, to discuss the latest developments in the Libyan crisis.
In his speech during the session, the Libyan ambassador said that Libya's economy is currently suffering from the repercussions of international intervention, the failure to reach comprehensive political solutions, and attempts to develop fabricated and unrealistic solutions to the political crisis.
He added that the solution lies simply in supporting the will of the Libyans to establish a stable state, in a constitution that defines its political and economic system, and in managing and distributing the country's resources in a way that preserves the state's prestige and sovereignty.
At the session, the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for African Affairs, Martha Bobby, stressed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire in Libya, and urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint, and to address issues through peaceful dialogue.
Boubi called on members of the Council and all of Libya's international partners to continue to exercise their influence over the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, and the Prime Minister-designate from Parliament, Fathi Bashagha, to reach a final agreement that would allow the elections to take place as soon as possible.
The UN official also stressed the need for the Libyan Oil Corporation to remain neutral and free from the pressures of political interests.
The Security Council session comes after the bloody confrontations that took place between two military forces in the capital (Tripoli), which resulted in the killing of 16 people, including civilians.
For his part, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the deputy US representative to the council, urged Libya's leaders to abandon personal interests and hold free and fair elections.
DiLaurentis called for preserving the integrity of the Libyan National Oil Corporation, stressing that the delay harms the Libyan people, who demand their opportunity to choose the leaders who will govern them transparently.
Diplomatic moves
Meanwhile, the Italian Ambassador to Libya Giuseppe Buccino said that he stressed during his meeting with the Prime Minister of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba in Tripoli, that the current situation in Libya cannot remain as it is, and may return the country to dangerous confrontations.
The Italian ambassador added - in tweets on Twitter on the website of the Italian embassy - that he also stressed in the meeting the importance of holding elections within an appropriate constitutional framework, and stressed that Libya urgently needs a unified and comprehensive government.
Buccino stated that he discussed with Dabaiba the need to preserve the neutrality of the National Oil Corporation and the sovereign positions.
For his part, US Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland said he had held talks with Dabaiba and Parliament-designated Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha, and that they confirmed their commitment to avoiding violence and finding ways to calm the situation in the wake of the recent tragic deaths.
He added - in tweets on Twitter - that he discussed with Dabaiba and Bashagha, in two separate calls, the possible steps to restore the elections track as soon as possible, as the only way to solve the problem of legitimacy.
For his part, Bashagha said - in a tweet on Twitter - that he agreed with Norland on the need for joint action to stop the recent unrest, considering that the violence had been committed by an outlawed government.
Bashagha stressed - in a second tweet - that only Libyan solutions are capable of overcoming the Libyan problems, stressing the importance of holding fair elections to get rid of what he described as the gang of corruption permeating the state.
Due to differences between Libyan official institutions, especially over the electoral law, it was not possible to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in 2021, as part of a United Nations-sponsored plan to end the conflict in the oil-rich country.
Libya suffers from economic and security crises, as the political crisis escalated by granting the House of Representatives confidence in the government of Fathi Bashagha in early March.
The Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, refuses to hand over power except to a government that comes through a new parliament elected by the people.
From time to time, the main cities in western and eastern Libya witness demonstrations demanding the departure of all existing political institutions, and the holding of elections without delay.