The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has welcomed the conclusion of the first 2018 municipal council polls in the country following the election of Mayor Jamal Bahr and the Municipal Council of Zawiya.
In a terse statement, UNSMIL wished Bahr and the Council success, calling for “supporting this democratically legitimized institution.”
It considered the elections “a solid step in consolidating the democratic processes.”
UNSMIL had earlier said that it facilitated a joint meeting at the UN headquarters in Tripoli and Tunis, bringing the international community together with Libya’s High National Elections Commission and the Interior Ministry to discuss the necessary provisions for election security.
It did not give further details.
Meanwhile, the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, has urged Britain to exert diplomatic efforts into ending the United Nations Security Council’s arms embargo on Libya so that his forces in the country’s west would be able to combat illegal migration.
His appeal came during a meeting he held with the UK’s International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, in Tripoli on Thursday.
A statement issued by the Presidential Council’s press office, said that Sarraj asked Mordaunt to back his government’s diplomatic efforts into persuading Security Council members to partially lift the weapons embargo.
He hoped the embargo will be partially ended at least against some of the entities such as the presidential guard and the coast guard.
Sarraj, according to the statement, reiterated his rejection to a European Union plan to establish migrant centers in Libya to stop asylum seekers arriving in western Europe.
He reiterated his call for a comprehensive solution to the migration problem.
The statement quoted Mordaunt as saying that the UK was willing to increase its support to the Libyan people and development projects through an effective economic partnership.
“British companies are ready to come to Libya … to contribute in the health and education sectors and invest in human resources,” she said.
