AL calls for efforts to run Libyan polls on schedule

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It urged the Libyan different factions to make concessions to make the election process a success….reports Asian Lite News

The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) has called on the Libyan political parties to exert more efforts to overcome obstacles and hold elections on schedule in December this year.

“The AL expressed regret over the failure of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) to reach a deal over a constitutional basis for the elections,” the pan-Arab body said in a statement on Monday.

It urged the Libyan different factions to make concessions to make the election process a success.

The AL called on all sides not to waste the available important opportunity through which the Libyan people will reach stability and find a way to reach a settlement.

On July 3, the UN announced that the LPDF meeting which aimed to reach a final agreement on the constitutional basis regulating the upcoming elections failed after a strenuous five-day negotiation in Geneva.

The meeting attendees debated fiercely on whether to hold parliamentary elections only or holding parliamentary and presidential elections at the same time.

Meanwhile, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has welcomed the launch of the voter registration by the country’s High National Elections Commission for the upcoming elections.

“The UNSMIL congratulates the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) on the launch of the voter registration update and considers this event to be a key milestone towards the realization of the Libyan people’s overwhelming demand for national elections on December 24 2021,” the agency said in a statement.

“After many years of conflict and division, after more than seven years without national elections, there is a new opportunity to move forward and for Libyans to exercise one of their most basic rights,” UN Assistant Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, Georgette Gagnon, said during the launch event.

Gagnon noted that while the launch of the digital voter registration update is a first concrete step towards the holding of elections, it remains imperative that a constitutional basis and a feasible legal framework are in place to enable the implementation of further preparations.

On July 2, UNSMIL announced that the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) meeting aiming to reach a final agreement on the constitutional basis regulating the upcoming elections failed after a strenuous five-day negotiation in Geneva.

UNSMIL appealed to the LPDF to accelerate their deliberations, to reach compromises, and finalize the proposal for the constitutional basis for elections.

“We also appeal to the parliament to fulfil its role and adopt a legal framework that would enable concrete implementation steps and allow the Libyan people to exercise their democratic rights on 24 December,” the statement said.

The LPDF selected a new executive authority of a unity government and a presidency council, ending years of political division in the country.

The main task of the new government is to prepare for the general elections to be held on December 24, as endorsed by the LPDF.

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