Tripoli_ It is incumbent on the international community to prevent local and foreign forces who try to prevent the general elections scheduled on 24 December 2021 from happening, Mousa al-Kouni, the Deputy President of the Presidential Council of Libya, told Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Libya, and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ján Kubiš on Thursday in Tripoli.
Al-Kouni pointed at the fact that there are spoilers both within and outside Libya who do not want the democratic process to take place and aim at extending the mandate of the current provisional Government of National Unity (GNA) until beyond December 24 deadline, the Libyan News Agency reported.
He reiterated the Presidential Council’s firm commitment to holding the elections on schedule and praised the world powers’ strong support of the elections during the Second Berlin Conference on Libya which took place on 23 June.
Al-Kouni said the Libyan people need actions not words on the part of the international community when it comes to holding the elections on time and to have foreign forces leave the country. This can only be achieved by providing a firm timetable which all parties should adhere to.
On his part, Mr. Kubis briefed Al-Kouni on the efforts to approve the constitutional basis on which the High National Electoral Commission will be running the elections thought he expressed concern about some stumbling factors and the intransigence of some members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).
On unifying the Libyan institutions, Al-Kouni emphasized that in terms of fighting terrorism that is ongoing in southern Libya the south represents the best ground and opportunity for unifying the Libyan Army by means of forming a unified operations command that spearhead the efforts of Presidential Council to bring security and stability to southern Libya.