Tripoli: Astalemate within the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) and differing views on forming a government of national unity threaten the process designed to end the civil war in the country, while increased reports of forces loyal to putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar increasing their military presence in certain areas risk a return to arms.
Thirty members of the LPDF on Dec. 14 threatened to pull out from the talks, accusing the United Nations mission of “designing” positions for specific people, in reference to Aqila Saleh, the speaker of the Tobruk parliament.
The news, which risks putting the entire U.N.-sponsored political process in limbo, comes amid military maneuvers by forces of Haftar.
Proposals made by the U.N. to reduce the percentage of voting inside the forum and adopt a new quorum to pass the mechanism for selecting the executive authority have not received sufficient support so far.
The ongoing situation makes it difficult for the parties involved to reach a breakthrough in forming a government of national unity and a new presidential council.
A meeting between rival parliamentarians from Tripoli and Tobruk scheduled for Dec. 21 in the city of Ghadames, a desert oasis near Libya’s borders with both Algeria and Tunisia, aimed at electing a new parliament speaker, has been canceled.
The meeting, initially scheduled to take place on Dec. 8, was allegedly postponed due to three parliament members testing positive for the coronavirus. However, observers disputed the claim, arguing it was due to political pressure by Saleh and Haftar’s militia on the deputies of the eastern Cyrenaica region, out of fear the eastern region will lose.
On the other hand, lawmakers from the southern region of Fezzan hope that the speaker of parliament will be one of them since, based on power-sharing quotas, the Presidential Council should come from the eastern region and the prime minister from the western region, namely Tripoli.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in a statement Thursday congratulated the Libyans on Independence Day and urged them to unify their efforts for national elections.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday voiced Washington’s support for Libya in reestablishing unity and sovereignty, noting that the cease-fire and progress made through political dialogue are positive steps toward ending conflicts. –Agencies
