UN special representative for Libya wants elections before end of 2023
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Libya, the Senegalese Abdoulaye Bathily, January 22, 2023. © Yousef Murad / AP
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This Saturday, March 11, from Tripoli, Abdoulaye Bathily called on the two Libyan camps to break the impasse and to agree "
by mid-June
" on the organization of presidential and legislative elections.
He defended himself from any interference in Libyan affairs.
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Abdoulaye Bathily had drawn the ire of Libyan political actors earlier this month when he pointed out their inability to agree on an electoral framework for more than a year.
He spoke this Saturday at a press conference in Tripoli, during which he offered them a timetable.
"
In
mid-June, it will be possible, after discussing for a few weeks, to reach an agreement on the electoral laws
," the UN envoy said.
If this deadline is respected, “
it will be possible to organize these elections by the end of the year
”.
The Senegalese also responded to accusations of interference in Libyan affairs: it is not a "
solution imposed by foreigners
"
,
he said, this "
clear roadmap
[...]
does not depend not from me
”.
The UN initiative
, supported by Westerners, is indeed divisive in Libya.
If she is applauded by Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, representative of the Libyan western camp, that of the government of Tripoli recognized by the UN, the Libyan eastern camp led by Marshal Haftar criticizes her, as well as her greatest support , Russia.
But one of the biggest obstacles to the organization of the polls is the opposition of the Tripoli camp to the candidacy of a soldier and a binational in the person of
Khalifa Haftar
, who has American and Libyan nationalities.
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