United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame declared Thursday that the Libyan people are “sick and tired of military adventurism and petty political maneuvers” and are keen on holding elections in their country.
During a briefing before the UN Security Council, he noted that a National Conference will be held in early 2019.
“The subsequent electoral process should commence in the spring of 2019. The conference will be Libyan-led and Libyan-owned,” he added.
Moreover, he revealed: “According to our latest poll, 80 percent of Libyans insist on having elections.”
“The conference will provide a platform for, and give voice to, the Libyan people. With it, they can push the House of Representatives, the High State Council, the Government of National Accord, to take the necessary and long-awaited steps to move forward the political process,” continued Salame.
“This conference is not to be a new institution nor an effort to replace existing legislative bodies,” he explained.
Addressing the security situation in Tripoli and the recent ceasefire there, he said: “The new Security Arrangements Committee for Greater Tripoli crafted a comprehensive security plan for the capital which has received the endorsement of the Presidential Council.”
The ceasefire “has indeed started. Several armed groups have withdrawn from positions in ministries and have indicated a readiness to hand over the port and the civilian terminal of Mitiga airport to state control. There is a fragile but palpable sense of improvement across the capital,” remarked the envoy.
“Success in the capital is crucial, not only because it houses most of the government institutions and 30 percent of the Libyan population, but also since what works in Tripoli can be a model to be repeated in other cities across the country,” he added.
On the economy, he told the Security Council: “Libya is wealthy. Oil production reaches up to 1.3 million barrels of oil per day, and this country of 6.5 million people has seen revenues of over 13 billion dollars in just this first half of the year.”
“However, these figures obfuscate the truth; Libyans have been increasingly impoverished while criminals employ violence and patronage network to steal billions from the national coffers.
“More must be done to further normalize the situation, and prevent the gains being rolled back. The phasing out of fuel subsidies for direct cash transfers will increase the real income of poor families, while preventing billions of dinars from falling into the hands of smugglers,” Salame noted.
Moreover, he cited the “appalling conditions in prisons” as another driver of the conflict in Libya.
“While the crisis prompted the issuance of a decree ordering the judiciary to review the files of the thousands of prisoners who have been languishing in jail, only 255 have been released. This process needs to be expedited and the armed groups must return control of detention facilities to the authorities,” he demanded.
