The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) has rejected the invitation of the United Nations’ (UN) envoy Abdoulaye Bathily for a meeting of the main Libyan stakeholders to discuss election laws and points of contention.
The HoR said it would not attend any dialogue or be part of any political agreements that could disrespect the will of Libya and the elected legitimate institutions.
The HoR said it had rejected any participation in new initiatives that would repeat previous failed experiences leading to no solutions to the crisis. It also said it would not recognize the outcomes of such initiatives.
Bathily has extended invitations to key Libyan institutional stakeholders to attend a meeting in the coming period to reach a settlement on the politically contested issues pertaining to the implementation of the electoral process.
UNSMIL said Thursday in a statement that Bathily had requested the institutional stakeholders to designate representatives to participate in a preparatory meeting, adding that the designated representatives of the Presidential Council, House of Representatives, High Council of State, Government of National Unity and the General Command of the “Libyan National Army” would discuss the date, venue, and agenda of the meeting of their principals.
“They will also identify the outstanding issues that need to be resolved to enable the High National Elections Commission to commence the implementation of the electoral laws issued by the House of Representatives.” The statement said.
“For the first time since elections failed to proceed on 24 December 2021, Libya now has in place a constitutional and legal framework for the elections,” said Bathily, calling on the major actors “to move, in good faith, to the next stage in order to achieve our shared goal to deliver free, transparent and inclusive elections for the Libyan people.”
Bathily called on all stakeholders to redouble efforts to resolve the outstanding political issues through UN-facilitated dialogue, and in a spirit of compromise. He also urged the stakeholders to show their full commitment to achieving national unity, peace and security in Libya, by engaging positively with his efforts to break the political deadlock.
