The current political deadlock between Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha and his rival predecessor Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is a “Libyan issue that ultimately requires a Libyan solution”, said U.N. Advisor Stephanie Williams.
Speaking in an interview with Newsweek, Williams underscored that U.N. will not recognize or support government over the other because “this is a sovereign matter decided by member states, and, in some cases, the United Nations Security Council.”
In the absence of elections, the U.N. advisor explained, neither the Tripoli nor Tobruk authorities had a real mandate.
She added that all the current political institutions in Libya lack popular legitimacy, something which can only be resolved through elections as per her view.
“I offered the good offices of the United Nations to mediate the dispute between Bashagha and Dbeibeh to help usher in a new era of stable leadership in Libya,” said the U.N. diplomat
Williams pointed out that national reconciliation and transitional justice are two primary goals on Libya’s road to recovery after more than a decade of division, conflict and chaos.