The outgoing acting UN envoy for Libya, Stephanie Williams, has warned political class stretching across Libya’s east-west conflict lines is determined to maintain the status quo and privileged access to the coffers of the state, telling The Guardian that “kleptocrats will try to block Libya elections”.
“Their numbers numerically are not significant, but there is a constituency of the status quo. The existing political class are not interested in committing class suicide. They see any change through a temporary executive or to national elections as an end to their privileged access to the coffers, and resources of the state, and so it would put an end to their system of patronage that they have so adeptly developed in the past few years.” She said.
Williams said that elections are a direct threat to their status quo, and they are going to fight to defend their status quo, and it’s her belief that those are trying to block the formation of a consensual unified executive are the very same political forces that will try to block elections.
“Libya has a status quo party that crosses conflict lines – these are the people that have benefited from the current exceptional structure and they do not want to leave it.” Williams added.
She also said that any attempt to form a new united executive authority has to come under the umbrella of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.
