France hosts conference in a final push for Libya's elections

France is hosting in Paris on Friday (12 November), a conference to support the holding planned elections Libya in December. The international community hopes the elections can help end a decade long chaos in Libya that followed the overthrow of Muammar Gadhaffi. There are, however, fears that certain Libyan factions may not accept the result of the elections and could possibly plunge Libya back to crisis. 

A source close to the French presidency, speaking on a condition of anonymity, told reporters that while the elections are close, the situation remains tense and fragile and some actors are ready to seize on any pre-elections ambiguities to advance their own interests.

It is likely that the final communique will include a warning to such spoilers, including the threat of sanctions against parties disrupting the process.  Concerns about the elections have recently also been voiced by the group Human Rights Watch  who expressed concern about the chances of holding free and fair elections. The group criticised what it described as Libya’s restrictive laws as well as the presence of armed groups accused of intimidating, attacking and detaining journalists and political activists.

Key leaders attending the Paris conference include US Vice President Kamala Harris, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and representatives of Turkey and Greece. 

Ankara and Moscow are sending lower-level representatives. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Turkish deputy foreign minister Sedat Onal will be attending. Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will also not attend due to the tensions of his country with France but other officials will be present. 

Libya will be represented by Mohamed al-Menfi, the head of the transitional presidential council that carries out head-of-state functions ahead of the elections, as well as Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. 

For Macron, success in Libya is a high priority given that he faces re-election in April. France will also assume the European Union’s presidency on 1 January 2022.. 


Source: commonspace.eu with Al Jazeera (Doha), AMNA (Athens), France24 (Paris). 
Picture: Banner of the conference on Libya held today in Paris; Twitter: @ObervatoryLY. 


 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains
Interior ministers from the European Union's 27 member states reached a deal on the bloc's migration policy yesterday (8 June) after some 12 hours of negotiations at a meeting in Luxembourg. The agreement outlines how responsibility for looking after migrants and refugees who arrive in the EU without authorisation is shared out among member states, a topic which has been the source of much disagreement since 2015, when well over 1 million migrants and refugees entered the EU, many of them fleeing the war in Syria. Under the deal agreed yesterday and set to be finalised ahead of a 2024 EU election, each country would be responsible for a set number of people, but would not necessarily have to take them in. Countries unwilling to receive irregular migrants and refugees arriving ad hoc to the EU would be able to help their hosting peers through cash - around 20,000 euros per person - equipment or personnel, reports Reuters. The agreement would introduce a new expedited border procedure for those deemed unlikely to win asylum to prevent them from lingering inside the bloc for years.
patrickn97 Fri, 06/09/2023 - 10:37

Popular

EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains
Interior ministers from the European Union's 27 member states reached a deal on the bloc's migration policy yesterday (8 June) after some 12 hours of negotiations at a meeting in Luxembourg. The agreement outlines how responsibility for looking after migrants and refugees who arrive in the EU without authorisation is shared out among member states, a topic which has been the source of much disagreement since 2015, when well over 1 million migrants and refugees entered the EU, many of them fleeing the war in Syria. Under the deal agreed yesterday and set to be finalised ahead of a 2024 EU election, each country would be responsible for a set number of people, but would not necessarily have to take them in. Countries unwilling to receive irregular migrants and refugees arriving ad hoc to the EU would be able to help their hosting peers through cash - around 20,000 euros per person - equipment or personnel, reports Reuters. The agreement would introduce a new expedited border procedure for those deemed unlikely to win asylum to prevent them from lingering inside the bloc for years.
patrickn97 Fri, 06/09/2023 - 10:37