The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said on Monday that elections are now more essential than ever, as he urged the Libyan parties to resume the electoral process that was halted last December.
“It is the responsibility of Libyan institutions and political officials to resume the electoral process as soon as possible for the benefit of more than 2.8 million registered Libyan voters who were looking forward to the polls on December 24, 2021, in a presidential election that did not take place,” Guterres said in a report submitted to the Security Council and published by AFP.
He said Libyans must commit themselves unequivocally to holding free, fair, inclusive, and credible presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible, based on an agreed constitutional and legal framework.
Guterres considered that the ceasefire agreement, approved in October 2020, is still holding, but he called on all parties to refrain from any unilateral practices that would exacerbate existing divisions, trigger conflicts, or threaten the “significant and hard-won” progress achieved in the past two years towards stability and unity.
The UN head appealed to Libyans to avoid practices that cause disturbances in the oil sector that affect their living conditions and ensure that all government employees are paid on time and fairly.