US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has called for holding elections in Libya as soon as possible.
“It is important that the elections in Libya be held as soon as possible to form a government that has legitimacy, and the UN envoy is working on holding them and trying to gather the parties in order to agree on their achievement,” Blinken said at a press conference with the Greek foreign minister.
For his part, the UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, confirmed that there is a growing convergence of views among the Libyan parties on the necessity of holding elections in 2023.
Bathily said on Twitter that he will leave for New York to brief the Security Council, where he recently held a series of consultations including Chairperson of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed Al-Menfi, Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh, State Council Chairperson Khaled Al-Mishri, Commander-in-Chief of the National Army Khalifa Haftar, and a delegation of the head of the government of national unity Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba.
Bathily stressed that there is a growing convergence of views on the need to hold elections in 2023, adding that he welcomed everyone’s commitment to find a Libyan-led solution to the current political crisis, calling on everyone to work together to end the current impasse and meet the aspirations of the Libyan people.
Al-Menfi noted that the completion of the elections in 2023 requires everyone to engage in financial arrangements to determine public spending priorities.
“The completion of the elections in 2023 requires everyone to engage in financial arrangements to determine public spending priorities, and political neutrality through a National Committee that preserves Libya’s sovereignty over its decision and resources,” Al-Menfi said on Twitter.
He stressed that national reconciliation is the basis of all tracks because it will be strengthened with priority given to its pillars in public spending, referring to the possibility of benefiting from the financial arrangements proposed by a National Committee to manage it.
“We welcome every effort and step to develop a constitutional framework for the completion of parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023,” Al-Menfi said.
He noted his readiness to cooperate with legislative institutions in alternative mechanisms to achieve the aspirations of the Libyan people in choosing their leadership.
