Top official says Libya closer to elections

Disputes about how to proceed with the election process, tribal clashes which have resulted in militiamen being killed by rival groups and international players intervening have all played a role in Libya’s elections being delayed, seemingly, indefinitely.

But now, a senior official, in one of Libya’s most prestigious institutions has hinted to Russian media that the country is close to holding elections.

Mohammed Takala, head of Libya’s Tripoli-based High State Council, has said the country is getting closer to holding presidential elections, according to the Russian state news agency RIA, reports Arab Weekly and agencies on November 27th.

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Efforts to bring together Libya’s rival factions to hold an election have been the main focus of diplomacy for years, but there has been little progress towards a vote since a 2020 ceasefire that paused most major warfare.

The HSC has a say in major political matters under the terms of a 2015 political agreement and has been negotiating with Libya’s main parliament, the internationally recognised House of Representatives, which is based in the east.

In June of this year, both rival factions appeared to edge closer to agreeing on how to set in motion elections.

A 6+6 committee drawn from Libya’s two rival legislative bodies – the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) and the Tripoli-based High Council of State (HCS) – agreed on June 6 on draft laws for presidential and parliamentary elections, inching forward in the country’s current political crisis.

Arab Weekly/agencies