Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily told the UN Security Council last month he planned to create a panel tasked with delivering presidential and legislative elections in conflict-torn Libya later this year. But his blunt criticism of the North African country’s two houses of parliament for failing to agree on a legal basis for elections has sparked a backlash that threatens to derail Bathily’s plans. Last month, the eastern-based House of Representatives passed an amendment to the country’s Constitutional Declaration — an interim constitution — which it said would provide a legal basis for elections. Western Libyan efforts to prevent Haftar, a US citizen, from standing in presidential polls have been a key factor in the stalemate over the legal basis for polls. Dbeibah summed up the fears of many in western Libya in a recent speech.

Source: Libya Today March 09, 2023 23:41 UTC