UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – The participants of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Tunisia have agreed to resume talks in one week, in an online format, UN Acting Special Envoy and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams said.
She added that there is good progress in the talks and the next meeting will be held via videoconference.
On Friday, Williams said that the participants of the forum had agreed that the date for national elections on a constitutional basis should be on December 24, 2021, 70 years after Libya’s Declaration of Independence.
According to UNSMIL, Libya needs a new executive, which includes establishing a new and reformed presidency council and an effective government of national unity with a separate prime minister to reach the stage to hold elections.
The participants of the forum have been working on defining the eligibility criteria and a mechanism for the selection of these new executive positions, according to Williams.
Sources close to the talks told Sputnik that more than half of the delegates at the forum want Williams to put off the vote on new executive positions until next month.
Another source said that the vote was put off right away because the delegates had failed to reach an agreement on the executive positions.
Libya has been divided between two opposing governments since the overthrow and assassination of the country’s long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The administrations known as the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) control the country’s west and east, respectively. The eastern-based House of Representatives is aligned with the LNA.
Sourse: sputniknews.com