What are the alternatives for a solution to the crisis in Libya in the face of persistent deadlock between Parliament and Council of State?

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The search for an alternative to overcome the impasse in the political process due to the disagreements between the House of Representatives (Parliament) and the High Council of State has become the main concern of the mediation efforts led by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Abdoulaye Bathily.

He no longer hides his disappointment in this regard or his impatience to find a way to achieve the holding of elections as soon as possible.

The tone was already set during his third briefing to the Security Council on 16 December, expressing his concern at what he did not hesitate to describe as the "hostage-taking" of the country by the will of two people, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh, and the chairman of the High State Council, Khaled Al-Mechri.

Mr. Bathily said the persistent disagreement between the two men, referring to the leaders of the two chambers "on a very limited number of provisions of the constitutional basis can no longer be used as a justification for taking an entire country hostage.

The UN official stressed that "the patience of the Libyan people is not without limits", assuring that "if the two institutions do not reach an agreement soon, alternative mechanisms can and should be used to alleviate the suffering caused by outdated and evolving interim political arrangements".

He also called for the support of the Security Council and its individual member states to put pressure on the country's political leaders on the urgent need to finalize the constitutional basis for the holding of general elections.

Since the postponement of the elections on 24 December 2021 due to political, security, and electoral law shortcomings as well as legal challenges to the presidential candidates, Libya has been in the grip of a deep impasse in its electoral process that has resulted in two rival governments, one in the east appointed by the parliament and the other in the west recognized by the international community.

This situation, which has heightened tensions in the country to the point of leading to armed confrontations, some of them deadly, between the two camps in Tripoli and in some western cities, was exacerbated by the failure of talks between the two chambers on a legal framework represented by a constitutional basis for holding elections in the absence of a permanent constitution.

The criteria for candidacy in the presidential election, the first in the country's history, relating to the eligibility of bi-nationals and the military, represented the stumbling block on which no consensus could be reached by the two legislative bodies.

As part of the search for an alternative, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, called, after his briefing to the Security Council, on the presidential candidates to agree on a unified proposal to overcome the current impasse within a specific timeframe.

This call was made during his meeting with a group of personalities from different parts of Libya who had already submitted their candidacies for the December 2021 presidential election, urging the former candidates to take into account the legal, constitutional and security aspects necessary to provide equal opportunities for competition and successful elections.

He stressed that Libyans are determined to make 2023 the beginning of a new dawn for them and their country. But this call to presidential candidates to draw up a proposal to break the political deadlock was described by MPs and members of the High State Council as "strange and suspicious".

They considered that this invitation should have been addressed to all members of the House of Representatives and the Council of State, as they are the legislative reference in the country.

Furthermore, they considered that Mr Bathily has no mechanism to bypass the House of Representatives and the High Council of State.

It should be noted that the hope raised by the recent agreement reached between Saleh and Mechri in Morocco, on the appointment of regalian positions, the unification of the executive and the commitment to carry out elections in accordance with the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to break the deadlock by finding a way out of the crisis did not last long.

Indeed, the adoption by Parliament of the draft law establishing a Constitutional Court in Benghazi (East), led to the suspension of all contact between the two chambers.

This decision was taken by Al-Mechri and endorsed by a vote of the members of the Council of State, which made the withdrawal of the law a condition for any normalization.

The Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya had counted on this agreement between the two chambers by arranging a meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament and the chairman of the High State Council to overcome the blockages but "logistical conditions beyond the control" of the UN prevented the meeting scheduled in Zentan (170 km south-west of Tripoli), according to the UN explanation.

Another alternative left to the UN to advance its mediation towards a solution is the initiative presented by the Presidential Council to resolve the political crisis in Libya, focusing on a constitutional dialogue as a priority to end the transitional stages, taking into account the initiatives, ideas and visions put forward by political parties and national forces.

Supported by Mr Bathily, the initiative, which represents an approach by the Presidency Council to overcome the political stalemate and reach a national consensus, stipulates the holding of a consultative meeting between the Presidential Council, the House of Representatives and the High State Council, in coordination with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Libya.

However, the chances of this initiative leading to significant progress in the resolution of the Libyan crisis remain slim, given that so far actions to hold this meeting between the three Libyan presidencies under the auspices of the United Nations have not yet been successful.

Despite the favourable context for this meeting due to the current stalemate and the need for a lifeline, past experience has shown that a first initiative by the Presidential Council to resolve the Libyan crisis failed.

The political divisions in Libya, which are still very marked, and foreign interference, which gives the Libyan crisis an international dimension, are obstacles to the search for a political solution.

Observers of the Libyan political scene believe that as long as there is no rapprochement in the positions of regional and international powers, no solution can be found to the Libyan crisis.

These same observers also maintained that the possibility of a third Berlin III conference, which has been mentioned in recent months to mobilize the support of the international community and relaunch the political process with a view to reaching a settlement, will not be able to achieve the expected results comparable to those of 2020.

They consider that the current context is completely different from that of the time when the country was emerging from the Tripoli war, which led to the lassitude of Libyans whose political decision-makers were forced by popular demonstrations caused by poor living conditions and deteriorating purchasing power and the economic crisis as well as the lack of access to basic services.

The Representative of the UN Secretary-General does not despair of bringing about a meeting between the Libyan parties to the conflict in order to make progress on the electoral process and resolve the Libyan crisis through the opportunity given to Libyans to choose their leaders and bring new legitimacy to the institutions.

In this context, he called on the Security Council, its members and all those with convening power, to support UNSMIL's efforts to bring Libya's political leaders back to the negotiating table and prevent further deterioration of the situation on the eve of the first anniversary of the postponement of the 24 December elections.

He also urged the UN executive body "to hold accountable those individuals and entities that act or support acts that prevent or undermine the holding of elections, ensuring that this will apply to acts committed before, during and after the polls.

The reaction of the UN Security Council seems to have reflected a harmony of positions of its members and a unification around the action of Mr. Bathily by supporting the ideas he has put forward and his vision of the solution in Libya.

In a communiqué issued on Tuesday, the members of the Security Council welcomed the extensive consultations conducted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General with Libyan stakeholders and the international community, reiterating their call on all Libyan parties and key stakeholders to engage with Mr. Bathily and each other constructively, fully, in a spirit of compromise and consensus, and in a transparent and inclusive manner.

They called on all actors to preserve the prevailing calm on the ground and to come together under the auspices of the United Nations to rapidly agree on a way forward, finalize the political settlement, including the constitutional basis, to conduct free, fair, transparent and inclusive national presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible throughout the country.

The members of the Security Council pledged to support an inclusive intra-Libyan dialogue in this regard, aiming, inter alia, at the formation of a unified Libyan government capable of governing throughout the country and representing all Libyan people.

Raising the spectre of sanctions, the members of the Security Council recalled that the measures set out in resolution 1970/2011, as amended by subsequent resolutions, will apply to persons and entities determined by the UN Libya Sanctions Committee to be engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, stability or security of Libya.

The Libyan parliament and the High State Council have since 2014 held the country hostage, constantly manoeuvring to torpedo any behind-the-scenes action that might lead to a way out in order to remain in the political landscape by extending their mandates.

This situation has led to these two legislative bodies being accused by a large section of Libyans of being at the origin of the crisis, since all that is needed is a real political will that puts the interests of Libya first in order to reach a definitive and lasting settlement in the country.

-0- PANA BY/IS/BBA/RA 22Dec2022