Libya is on the verge of forming a new temporary government following a breakthrough in dialogue organized by the United Nations. These talks were held to bring together the main factions that have been fighting each other in the war-torn country.
The talks which were held in Geneva intend to create a transitional government that will run the country and organize elections in December.
The meeting was held by a forum that consists of 75 members who come from the main regions in Libya. This forum is then broken down into a committee of 18 people. The committee has recommended that a three-member presidential council should be formed with representatives from each region’s electoral body. The 75-member forum will choose a prime minister who has to score 70 percent of the total votes.
Stephanie Williams; the UN envoy for Libya, was full of praise for the advisory committee. She stated that the committee had done its job with a lot of cooperation, constructive spirit and patriotism.
According to Ms. Williams, a temporary unified executive would form the basis of the transitional government. The staff will be patriotic Libyans who are concerned about sharing responsibility instead of dividing the cake.
The United States embassy has released a statement congratulating the forum for the breakthrough. The US officials have urged all Libyan parties to ignore their differences so that they can work towards creating a temporary government quickly and in good faith.
The North African nation has been engulfed in chaos since longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in 2011. The UN is using the current forum as a way of ending the bloodshed in the country. The forum agreed to conduct a parliamentary and presidential vote on December 24, 2021.
Since 2014, the oil-rich country has been divided between rival groups in Benghazi in the east and Tripoli in the west.
Eastern-based rebel commander Khalifa Haftar is the leader of the Libyan National Army which is enjoys support from Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, Tripoli is the capital of the Government of National Accord which is recognized internationally and backed by Turkey.
These two sides stand for sometimes unstable alliances of diverse political, armed and regional factions.
