The United Nations (UN) has lauded the recent development in the ongoing negotiation talks in Libya that aims to restore peace in the war-torn country, reported CGTN Africa.
The Libyan envoys at UN-backed talks voted on Tuesday to pass the mechanism to choose an interim executive to govern until polls in December. The talks held in Geneva brought together 75 delegates- representing a broad range of constituencies- in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).
The international body called it a significant step forward.
“Following the agreement on a proposal for the selection mechanism of a unified executive authority… the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) conducted a one-day voting process,” the UN said, with the vote running from Monday to Tuesday.
A total of 73 percent backed the proposal.
“Libyans have now a genuine opportunity to move past their differences and divisions, (and) select a temporary government to reunify their institutions through the long-awaited democratic national elections”, interim UN envoy Stephanie Williams said.
She added that the UN was finalizing the nomination procedure and an election timeline. Last year in November, 75 representatives of the social and political spectrum of the Libyan society met in Tunis and agreed to hold general elections in the country on Dec. 24, 2021.
Libya has been marred by civil war since the NATO-backed uprising that ousted long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. Libya’s eastern-based army led by Khalifa Haftar and the UN-backed government fought for more than a year in and around the capital Tripoli before the conflicts ended last June.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed tangible progress reached in recent months in Libya. He urged regional and international actors to respect the ceasefire agreement and withdraw foreign forces from Libya within the three-month deadline expiring on January 23.
It is estimated that there are still some 20,000 foreign forces and mercenaries in Libya helping the warring factions.
