By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 12 September 2015:
Contrary to the hopes of UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon, the UNSMIL team and the . . .[restrict]accompanying support group of international ambassadors accredited to Libya, there has been little advance at the latest Dialogue talks in Skhirat on the annexes to the Draft agreement today. Nor has there been any development in the matter of choosing a prime minister and the two deputy prime ministers. This evening, the GNC team caused a new delay by deciding that it would return to Tripoli for two days to take advice from colleagues.
“It has been slow going,” one of the diplomats said, “but it is moving forward and the atmosphere is positive”, he added, refuting suggestions that the talks were stalled. He also confirmed that the GNC team had not brought with them any names for the premiership and deputy premiership posts but it was hoped they would bring them on their return.
One of the thorniest issues in the latest talks has been the GNC’s demand that all the council’s 120 members come from its ranks and that they be current members, not those elected in July 2012, as stated in the Draft.
The HoR has insisted that there can be no change to the Draft.
On Thursday, Leon had said he hoped that there should be agreement on the annexes by yesterday, Friday, and that discussions on the names should begin today. He said that the whole process had to be finished by 20 September.
In one of the shortest statements to date about the talks, indicating the lack of progress, UNSIL today simply said that the talks were “in full swing” and that, as well as the HoR and GNC teams, Leon had met a wide array of participants including independents, women’s groups, political parties and municipalities.
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