The United Nations envoy to Libya, Abdullah Batili, stated today that the formation of a "unified government agreed upon by most key stakeholders is essential to lead the country to elections," marking a clear shift from a previous stance that prioritized conducting elections first.
In statements before the UN Security Council today, he expressed expectation for a meeting among "key stakeholders or their representatives" to resolve major issues. Batili is pressing the House of Representatives and the High Council of State, an advisory body that provides opinions on key political matters, to finalize election laws. He noted he is working with Mohamed Menfi, the head of the Presidential Council based in Tripoli, to prepare for a meeting involving the main actors.
In addition to Menfi, Batili mentioned the names of Prime Minister of the National Unity Government Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh, and Khalifa Haftar, commander of the eastern Libyan forces. The House of Representatives based in eastern Libya has not recognized the internationally recognized National Unity Government in Tripoli since 2021 after a failed attempt to hold general elections.
The risks of this conflict emerged last week when clashes occurred among armed factions in Tripoli, resulting in the death of 55 people in the worst wave of fighting there in years. Jalal Harshawi, a specialist in Libyan affairs at the Royal United Services Institute in London, commented, "It's a bad day for Dbeibeh. The ground is shaking beneath his feet." Tim Eaton, a researcher on Libyan affairs at Chatham House, noted, "There seems to be an opportunity to negotiate a new interim government because there is an incentive for the competing parties to engage. However, once formed, all measures encouraging elections will vanish. Batili lacks a means to penalize them."
