The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement Tuesday that it had taken note of ongoing preparations to convene the House of Representatives (HoR) in the city of Sirte, scheduled to be held on 8 March.
“Following consultations with international partners, UNSMIL and its partners strongly encourage the HoR to meet as scheduled to discuss and consider the vote of confidence to the Cabinet to be proposed by the Prime-Minister designate.” The statement reads.
It also encouraged the PM-designate to present the line-up of the government without further delay.
UNSMIL said this call comes in line with the increasing public demand for the urgent need to form a unified government to address the most pressing needs and facilitate the holding of national elections in December 2021.
With regard to media reports circulated about allegations of bribery during the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in Tunisia, citing a “UN expert panel report,” UNSMIL reiterated that the Panel of Experts (PoE) is a separate entity, completely independent from UNSMIL.
“The PoE provides its report to the Security Council Sanctions Committee. The Mission further stresses that it does not receive the reports of the PoE including its latest report, and it is therefore not in a position to comment on it. Any questions in this regard should be addressed to the Sanctions Committee.” UNSMIL said.
In an implied reference to a report by AFP citing UN panel of experts about bribes being paid (150.000 to 500.000 dollars) to some Libyan Political Dialogue Forum members in Tunisia for votes for Dbeibah, the media office of the Government of National Unity said this was an endeavor of fact-twisting by the media and Libyans had previously fallen for it many times, leading to the current fragmentation after conflicts and wars.
