The Libyan presidential elections, originally set for December 24 last year, were postponed due to “conflicting candidacies”, revealed Richard Norland, the U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya.
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio spoke on the phone with his American counterpart Antony Blinken to discuss a number of international issues including the elections in Libya, the Italian foreign ministry said on Friday.
France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the U.S. “stand ready to hold to account those who threaten the stability or undermine the political and electoral process in Libya, through violence, or the incitement of violence,” according to a joint statement released Friday by the five countries.
The United States has called for de-escalation in Libya as uncertainty looms over the future of the country after the parliament announced postponement of the elections while armed groups in Tripoli mobilize forces.
Richard Norland, the U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, directly informed Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh, who is running for president in the December 24 elections, that candidates must campaign separately from their public position, according to a statement by the U.S. Embassy on Monday.
Richard Norland, the U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, arrived in Tripoli today where he visited a polling station to view preparations for the general elections, according to the American embassy.
Washington is against allowing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late leader Muammar Gaddafi, to run for president in the upcoming elections, while Moscow insists on his participation, said Khaled al-Mishri, the chairman of the High Council of State.
Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi held talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the margins of the G20 Summit in Rome yesterday to discuss “the situation of instability in the Mediterranean and in Libya,” according to a statement by Draghi’s office.
American Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Paris in November to participate in the conference on Libya with a range of other foreign leaders, her spokesperson said in a statement.