The international diplomatic movement is accelerating to resolve the Libyan crisis, as the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar met in Benghazi, Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy Leslie Ordman, and the Italian ambassador held talks in Tripoli, and the United Nations and Spain signed an agreement to support the electoral process.
Chargé d'Affairs at the US Embassy to Libya Leslie Ordman discussed with retired Major General Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi the importance of reuniting the Libyan army under an elected civilian leadership.
The US embassy stated on its Twitter account today, Wednesday, that Ordman and Haftar's meeting touched on security coordination, and the importance of reuniting the Libyan army under a democratically elected civilian leadership.
The media office of the eastern Libyan forces (affiliated to Haftar) said in a statement that Haftar met Ordman and General John de Lamontagne, deputy commander of the US Air Force in Africa, without providing details.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Ordman discussed with the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, "the importance of building unity and bridging differences to serve the interests of the Libyan people and achieve their long-awaited demand to choose their leaders (by holding elections)," according to a tweet by the US embassy.
Chargé d'Affaires Ordman in #Benghazi: "I met with Parliament Speaker Saleh in Benghazi today to discuss the importance of building unity and bridging differences to serve the interests of the Libyan people, including fulfilling their long-awaited demand for their own leadership."
#Libya pic.twitter.com/rNC9Qg1X4j
- US Embassy - Libya (@USEmbassyLibya) January 17, 2023
Italian talks
In the context, the Italian Ambassador to Libya, Giuseppe Botino, reaffirmed his country's support for all efforts supporting stability in Libya, leading to the elections, during a meeting with a member of the Presidential Council, Abdullah Al-Lafi, in Tripoli.
Botino praised the efforts of the Presidency Council in the file of national reconciliation, considering that the preparatory forum for the inclusive conference on reconciliation, which was held last week in Tripoli, was an important and successful step for the Presidency Council.
The Presidential Council stated that Al-Lafi and Botino discussed during the meeting the developments of the Libyan political scene, and the outcome of the preparatory forum for national reconciliation, with the participation of representatives of all political parties.
Abdullah Al-Lafi reviews with the Italian ambassador the developments of the Libyan political scene. https://t.co/UQ8KJwx0rr pic.twitter.com/l6xOAs7bWI
- Libyan News Agency (@lana_news) January 18, 2023
International support
Meanwhile, the Libyan Elections Commission said, in a statement, that in the presence of its president, Imad Al-Sayeh, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed an agreement with the Embassy of Spain in Tripoli to support the "People" project, which is supervised by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya and aims to provide technical and advisory support for the electoral process.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the UN program by Marc-Andre Franch, while the Spanish ambassador to Libya, Javier Larache, signed it on behalf of the Spanish government.
On December 15, the UN program signed a similar agreement with the German and French governments to support the project.
initiative to solve
On the other hand, 48 potential candidates for the presidency in Libya launched an initiative to hold the faltering elections, and handed it over to the United Nations envoy to Libya, Abdullah Batili, and called on the international community to "adopt it as a road map out of the transitional stages."
The initiative includes a road map with specific dates to reach the elections that could not be held on December 24, 2021;
It provides for the handover of power to the elected head of state and parliament no later than 9 months.
The plan also proposes that the Supreme Judicial Council issue ceremonies granting open leave to the House of Representatives and the state, dissolving the two governments, and for the Presidential Council to assume their duties, and then name the Supreme Judicial Council within 10 days as the head of a mini-government of competencies, which will conduct business and prepare for elections.
The plan ends with simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, and the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the state, as soon as the results are announced.
Among the signatories to the initiative were the former Libyan representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim al-Dabbashi, former parliamentarians Abd al-Majid Ghaith and al-Sharif al-Wafi, and businessmen Ismail Shteiwi and Aref al-Nayed.