Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah on Monday said his Tripoli-based government is all set to hold general elections in the year 2023, reported The National News.
“The Government of National Unity and the National Elections Commission are fully prepared to hold the national elections in Libya,” Dbeibah said during a cabinet meeting.
Notably, Libya failed to organize general elections in December 2021 due to disagreements among various political parties over election laws.
On Monday, the Libyan Prime Minister Dbeibah vowed that 2023 is going to be the year of elections. He said that this year civil institutions, sectors, and organizations will get reunited, and support national figures in holding successful elections.
Libya is currently divided between two governments- one appointed by the House of Representatives (parliament), and the other is the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity which only agrees to hand over power to an elected government.
The UN appointed Mr Dbeibah’s government back in 2021 to oversee the December elections that year. Unfortunately, the vote was never held.
Libya’s eastern-based parliament, the House of Representatives, called on Dbeibah to step down, saying his mandate had expired. Despite Dbeibah’s refusal to resign, the Libyan parliament appointed Mr Bashagha as the prime minister in February 2022.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, Abdoulaye Bathily, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, expressed hope that elections would be held in Libya in 2023.
Bathily said she hopes 2023 will make up for lost opportunities and find a lasting solution that will lead to holding elections and building sustainable peace and prosperity in Libya.
Late last week, Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar also said that there was a last chance to draw up a road map and hold elections in Libya in 2023, stressing that the country’s unity was a red line that cannot be violated.
