Five Western countries announce their support for Batili's call on Libyan leaders for a political settlement that paves the way for elections

Rome, October 17, 2023 (LANA) - The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany expressed in a joint statement strong support for the call of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for all Libyan leaders to work together to reach a binding political settlement that paves the way for national elections and a unified government.” .

     The Italian AKI news agency reported that the five Western countries stressed in their statement yesterday, Monday, that the unanimously agreed upon path, which enjoys the participation of all parties, provides the best ways to hold elections and a future of peace, unity, stability and prosperity for the Libyan people.

    The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Libya, Abdullah Batili, had praised, in a briefing he presented to the UN Security Council, the progress that had been made on the course of the electoral process in Libya, stressing that the completion of the development of electoral laws by the committee provides an opportunity to break the deadlock.

     Batili added in his briefing that from a political perspective, “the most politically controversial issues remain unresolved,” including the mandatory second round of presidential elections, the link between presidential and parliamentary elections, and the formation of a new government, also referring to the differences between the House of Representatives and the High Council of State regarding electoral laws.

      The UN envoy warned that these “disagreements put the entire electoral process at risk of another political crisis.”