The intention is to generate a firm political space and a competitive economy in a scenario that will allow elections to be held in order to put an end to the war ravaging the North African country

International meeting in Libya to boost the Stabilisation Initiative

photo_camera AP/HAZEM AHMED - Libya's interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé

The Libyan Transitional National Unity Government (GNU), created at the request of the UN last March, hopes that the international ministerial conference scheduled for Thursday in Tripoli will serve to accelerate the so-called Initiative for the Stabilisation of Libya, a plan that aims to create a firm political space and a competitive economy that will allow elections to be held on time and put an end to ten years of conflict.

This was explained to the EFE news agency on Wednesday by a Libyan diplomatic source, who insisted that the international representation will be much broader than that of the Berlin donors' conference, since the initiative "has aroused the interest of many other countries" such as Spain.

In a speech broadcast on the networks, Libyan GNU Foreign Minister Najla al-Manqoush explained on Monday that the aim of the initiative is to make Libya a stage for positive economic competition and to find "a national mechanism and an international position consistent with the vision for the presidential and parliamentary elections" scheduled for 24 December.

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The minister insisted that the desire is to "ensure the optimal implementation of the UN resolutions and the Berlin Conferences” but did not dispel doubts about the elections and the possibility of their postponement due to the dispute over the electoral law and candidate requirements.

Earlier this month, the parliament established in the city of Tobruk under Marshal Khalifa Haftar approved a new legal framework and referred it to the UN special mission (UNSMIL).

Days later, the law was denounced by the Tripoli-based Council of State (Senate), which submitted its own proposal.

At the heart of the dispute is the point that allows anyone who has held political or military office to run as a candidate provided they have resigned their position three months in advance, a requirement that facilitates the possible entry into the electoral race of Haftar, who provisionally resigned his post on 22 September, the deadline.

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Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, son of the ousted dictator, is also among those who have expressed their desire to run for the presidency and is keen to regain his father's sceptre.

 Credible elections

In his speech, Al-Manqoush insisted that the High National Electoral Commission is already working to ensure fair and transparent elections, as other pro-delay groups also point out, justifying the possible postponement "on the need to get it right".

This step "would help the Libyan authorities implement their political, security, economic and financial plans and move towards building a strong and unified state that enhances opportunities for stability and development, and addresses existing dangers and challenges," it said.

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To this end, the Initiative focuses on "two most important tracks: security and economic", with the 5+5 Military Committee - the only bilateral body in which the two former warring governments negotiate - as the centrepiece.

 Exit of mercenaries

In this regard, one of the main issues to be debated this Thursday will be the orderly departure of all mercenaries and foreign forces that have entered the country since the start in 2015 of the war against the jihadist organisation Daesh and the outbreak of the civil war, since "they represent a threat not only to the stability of Libya but to the entire region".

The Transitional Libyan Government urges in its proposal all actors concerned to encourage and support every step forward in the project to unify the Libyan Army under a single command, and to provide the technical support to dismantle and integrate armed groups that did not engage in terrorist and criminal acts, it said.

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During the years in which Haftar extended his power in the rest of the country and raised an unsuccessful siege of the capital, he brought into his ranks thousands of Sudanese, Chadian, Arab, European, Syrian and Russian mercenaries, and in particular the Private Military Security Company (PSMC) 'Wagner Group', which is associated with the Kremlin, and which became famous and fearsome in the Ukrainian and Syrian wars.

For its part, the UN-supported Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli defended itself with the help of the Turkish army and thousands of Syrian mercenaries recruited by Ankara from among the Salafist opposition groups to the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad.

Finally, the initiative includes other specific projects for national reconciliation, such as transnational justice, decentralisation, neutralising tribal power and raising awareness of human rights through religious discourse and the media.
 

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