Oct 16 (Reuters) - Libya's electoral commission has told the United Nations it can only start a countdown to national elections after resolution of the question of forming a new government, U.N. Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said on Monday. A standoff between Libya's rival political and armed factions over the interim government has festered since early last year, leading to brief bouts of fighting. Subjecting the validity of the parliamentary elections to that of the presidential elections "puts the process at a high risk of disruption", Bathily said. Dbeibah has refused to step down until after an election and has rejected the legitimacy of the parliament, which was elected in 2014 for a two-year term. Bathily has also said elections require a unified government agreed upon by the major players in eastern and western Libya, which until now have shown little inclination to agree.

Source: Libya Today October 16, 2023 17:49 UTC