CAIRO – 4 November 2021: The Libyan High National Election Commission announced Thursday that candidacy filing for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections – scheduled for December 24 - will begin on November 7.
While attending the international conference Libya held in October to support stability on its territories, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shokry proposed four measures that can be approved by participants to ensure elections are held on time in December.
Those are:
First: Designating the tools of the implementation and observation of the withdrawal of foreign forces, mercenaries, and foreign militants within a clear time frame.
Second: Implementing all the articles of the ceasefire agreement, including freezing all military agreements.
Third: Setting suitable programmes for the disarmament of members of armed groups, and the rehabilitation of those who can be reintegrated in society.
Fourth: The international community has to assume its role in ensuring that parties, that want to abandon its commitments and go around international resolutions pertinent to holding elections and the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries, are assuming their responsibilities, and are held accountable if they do not.
At the beginning of his speech, the minister valued the measures taken by the Libyan Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity in preparation for December elections.
Shokry added he looks forward to the absence of any exclusion or marginalization in the elections for Libya to restore its effective Arab and African role.
The minister noted that Egypt has been working on creating a common ground among various Libyan factions so they would reach a joint national integrated vision aimed at resolving the causes of the political, economic, and security crises the country has been enduring since 2011.
"Stability has requirements that are indispensable. Those include ending violence and escalation, building peace bridges, and opening horizons for the national comprehensive reconciliation. That would guarantee the sustainability of social peace, and the preservation of Libya's identity. That is the pathway prioritized by Egypt," Shokry asserted.
The minister also stressed the importance of "the fair distribution of wealth in order to achieve comprehensive development across Libya and push forward its economy." He added that Egypt is still coordinating efforts with the United States, and the European Union on that front. That coordination is taking place within the economic task force that originated from Berlin Conference, and is aimed at implementing economic reform for Libya to optimally benefit from its resources.
Shokry warned that the real obstacles impeding Libya from restoring its sovereignty and unity is the presence of foreign forces, mercenaries, and foreign militants on its territories. "That is negatively influencing the national security of Libya in specific, and neighboring Arab and African countries in general," Egypt's foreign minister highlighted.
In that context, the minister urged fulfilling United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution no. 2570, and outcomes approved by Berlin Conference 2, Arab League, and African Union on the withdrawal of foreign forces, and foreign militants from Libya without exceptions.
Before the conference, Shokry met with Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which is an interim government, Abdelhamid al-Dbeibah. Later, after the conference, he also met with Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Manfy, and his deputies, Abdallah al-Lafy and Mousa al-Kawny. The minister asserted again in the meetings the importance of holding elections on time and the elimination of foreign military presence on Libyan territories.
Fri, Nov. 5, 2021
