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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 4 July 2021:
The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) gathered in Switzerland from 28 June to 2 July failed to reach consensus on a constitutional basis to hold the 24 December 2021 elections. The deadline set by the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) for agreeing the constitutional/legal grounds to give it enough time to hold the elections was 1 July.
In his closing remarks to the LPDF in Switzerland on Friday, Raisedon Zenega, Assistant Secretary-General and Mission Coordinator of UNSMIL explained that despite giving the gathered numerous opportunities and time to agree, they failed to agree a consensus.
‘‘In that process, three other proposals emerged. Some of them were consistent with the Roadmap, some of them were not consistent with the Roadmap, and some sought to establish preconditions for arriving at the 24 December date.
‘‘The debate was heated, some of you threatened to walk out and boycott the process should the committee’s proposal be tabled for a vote.
‘‘It is regrettable that, despite all the opportunities, there is still no common ground. The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 December. This does not bode well for the credibility and relevance of the LPDF. ‘’
The LPDF formed a Proposals Bridging Committee to try to find common ground. At the close UNSMIL said it will continue to work with the LPDF and the Proposals Bridging Committee to explore further efforts to build common ground based on the Legal Committee’s proposal as the reference framework for a constitutional basis for elections on 24 December 2021.
Proposals that do not make the elections feasible and possible to hold elections on 24 December will not be entertained, UNSMIL said.
