All news

Libyans have no interest in change of government before elections — UN adviser

Stephanie Williams believes that it is crucial to maintain the momentum for elections, as it is only through the democratic election of a new government and a new President that Libya can fully return to its status of sovereignty and unity

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. The people of Libya are not interested in another interim, transitional government until the presidential and parliamentary elections are held, as they are now the priority, Stephanie Williams, Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary-General on Libya, said in an interview with TASS.

"What I have recommended is that the parliament focus its energies and efforts on the electoral process. I don’t believe that the Libyan people want yet another interim, temporary, transitional government. It would be something like the sixth government since the events of 2011. And again, what they (the Libyans - TASS) really want to do is to go to the ballot box," she said.

Williams clarified that decision-making was "within the purview of the parliament." She pointed out that there are agreements and internal regulations, "which stipulate a necessary quorum for declaring no confidence in the current government and then forming a new government."

"And, certainly, those quorums should be respected," she stressed.

"The Libyan parliament has held several sessions on the month of January and they’ve also constituted a committee within the parliament to chart a roadmap. That committee has been conducting consultations throughout the country and it is expected to deliver a report to the parliament. What we hope, what I hope, is that people remember and respect the will of the 2.5 million Libyans, who have picked up their voter registration cards and would really like to go to the ballot box," the special adviser said.

Williams believes that it is crucial to maintain the momentum for elections, as "it is only through the democratic election of a new government and a new President that Libya can fully return to its status of sovereignty and unity."

Elections in Libya

On Monday, Speaker of Libya’s House of Representatives Aguila Saleh called for a new government to be formed at the soonest possible time, as the term of the current cabinet had expired.

On December 22, 2021, Libya’s Election Commission officially announced that the December 24 presidential and parliamentary elections were postponed, recommending the parliament to hold the first round of the presidential election a month later, on January 24, 2022, proceeding from the fact that the final decision should be made by the lawmakers. However, the parliament disagreed with the Election Commission’s initiative to delay the polls by only one month "for security reasons." They have not yet come up with a new date for the elections.