Head of the UN Mission to Libya Ghassan Salame has said that “without the right conditions, it would be unwise to conduct elections” in the country.
“Without clear and strong messaging to those who would attempt to stall or disrupt these elections, the conditions will not be met,” Salame told the UN Security Council.
His statement was made only a few hours after the Government of National Accord in Tripoli announced a budget for the Independent High Electoral Commission, at a time when the Libyan parliament agreed to meet end of July to vote on the constitutional referendum.
Although Salame had called for holding elections in Libya weeks ago, he backed off on Monday, describing the current condition in the country as unsustainable, saying that Libya is drowning.
“I urge the member states of this Council, to press the House of Representatives to deliver on its historic responsibility and achieve this goal in a timely fashion,” he said.
The Libyan people are keen to rid the ‘corrupt institutions’ and live in adequate economic conditions, added Salame.
The GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj has allocated more than 66 million Libyan dinars to prepare for the parliamentary and presidential elections.
Further, eight migrants, mostly children, suffocated to death trapped in a refrigerator truck carrying around 100 people in western Libya, said Zuwara's security directorate.
Six children, a woman and a young man died of suffocation. The migrants were from Bangladesh, Pakistan as well as Arab and African countries.
The directorate added that an investigation was underway to arrest the smugglers and bring them to justice.
Smugglers took advantage of the insecurity and chaos in Libya to send thousands of illegal immigrants towards Italy through the past four years.
In a related matter, an official from the Libyan National Army confirmed that a terrorist plot has been thwarted.
Xinhua News Agency quoted Field Army Commander Saeed Wanis as saying that a plot to destabilize Darnah has been foiled.
