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On Friday, some world powers came together to call for “inclusive” and “credible” elections in Libya, threatening sanctions on those who obstruct them. The holding of these elections, the first in the country’s history, remains uncertain due to renewed tensions between the west and the east.
Ten years after the fall of Muammar al-Gaddafi, can Libya emerge from the chaos? The international community wants to believe it. For this reason, this Friday they called for “inclusive” and “credible” elections to be held in December and threatened sanctions against those who impede them.
“The Libyan transition must be completed and the elections must be held in the best possible conditions. The next six weeks are crucial,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, closing the international conference in Paris.
However, obstacles remain. “After a decade of violence, divisions and instability, the prospect of an election raises doubts, including opposition, by all those who fear democratic change and all those who have benefited from the war,” warned the president.
The December 24 presidential elections, the first in the country’s history, as well as the legislative elections remain uncertain, with renewed tensions between rival sides in the west and east of the country as the deadline approaches.
The elections are the culmination of a long political process sponsored by the UN. And they are seen as an opportunity to turn the page on a decade of chaos since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011 and end fratricidal divisions and struggles.
“All Libyans agree that there will be elections on December 24,” said Mohammed el-Menfi, president of the Libyan Presidential Council in Paris.
“Holding the elections simultaneously on schedule is a historic goal that we will strive to achieve,” said Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah.
Threats of sanctions to those who hinder the democratic process
For Abdelhamid Dbeibah, the other priority is “to obtain concrete guarantees that the results of these elections will be accepted and that those who reject them will face sanctions.”
This is a concern shared by the thirty leaders present, who warned in the final statement: “Those individuals or entities inside or outside Libya who try to obstruct, challenge, manipulate or falsify the electoral process and the political transition will have to be held accountable. “.
Observers point to the risk that the results of the presidential elections will be rejected by one side or the other, and that the country will fall back into violence, with a contested president and no Parliament.
The final declaration was signed by the countries involved with the parties to the conflict: Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Turkey. Like the nations that collaborated to resolve the crisis: Germany, Italy and France.
It was also approved by the United States, whose Vice President Kamala Harris attended the meeting, and by Libya’s neighbors: Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. Egyptian President Abdelfatah al-Sisi was received at a luncheon by Emmanuel Macron before the conference.
Macron, who has already organized two conferences on Libya in 2017 and 2018, had been criticized for favoring the military man Khalifa Haftar, although now Paris shows greater neutrality.
A plan for the withdrawal of the mercenaries
The Paris conference also endorsed “the Libyan plan for the exit of foreign forces and mercenaries.”
Several thousand Russian mercenaries – from the private group Wagner -, pro-Turkish Syrians, Chadians and Sudanese are still present in Libya, according to the Elysee.
Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need for a withdrawal “without delay” of the “mercenaries” and the “military forces” of Russia and Turkey, which have also deployed soldiers.
At stake is “the stability and security of the country and the entire region,” he warned, and celebrated a “first step” with the announcement on Thursday of the departure of 300 mercenaries from Marshal Haftar’s side.
But Turkey is in no rush to withdraw its forces.
“The withdrawal must be complete and in stages, progressively and synchronized” between East and West, said the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, in another press conference.
“If the balance of power on the ground is broken, the risk of resuming fighting will increase,” he insisted.
“There is some reluctance on the part of Turkey. It is good that we can see a first withdrawal, it will serve as an example. Things have started,” summed up German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
With AFP
Article adapted from its original in French
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