For the first time, the consultations and meetings between the Libyan parties witnessed continuous understandings on more than one side and on more than one level, despite the sensitivity of the consultations and matters related to them. This gives optimism and comfort to the possibility of getting out of the current crisis and raises hope before the Tunis dialogue sessions.
In a very short time, the Libyan parties met in consultations held in different places, but with one goal, which resulted in an agreement on holding elections and establishing a new presidential council, and the participants pledged to make them succeed and advance the nation’s interest over their personal interest.
A critical turning point
A consultative meeting was launched in the Swiss city of Montreux, described by the United Nations as segnificant progress between a number of Libyan personalities within the framework of efforts to search for a settlement of the conflict in the country. The mission also praised the goodwill and national dedication shown by the participants in the meeting.
The mission emphasized the need to seize this opportunity to set aside the old differences in order to recommend a Libyan-Libyan solution that could be put forward to accelerate the resumption of the Libyan political dialogue conference facilitated by the United Nations at an early date.
It concluded that the presidential and parliamentary elections should be held at the end of an 18-month period, according to a constitutional framework to be agreed upon, a period beginning with the restructuring of the Presidential Council, establishing a national unity government and creating the necessary conditions for holding national elections, and calling on the international community to assume its responsibilities to support this process.
Meetings dominated by understanding until the end
Abo Zniqa’s meetings in Morocco was described as positive and dominated by understanding between the delegations of dialogue, the representatives of the Supreme Council of State and the representatives of Tobruk, in two rounds, the first of which began on the 6th of September and lasted for four days.
In these meetings, the parties reached a comprehensive agreement on transparent and objective standards and mechanisms, to assume sovereign positions; With the aim of unifying them and setting up a mechanism to choose the governor of the Central Bank of Libya, the two delegations issued a statement of what they had reached during this round, where they appealed to the United Nations and the international community to support Morocco’s efforts.
On October 3, the second round of the Abo Zniqa sessions began, with the aim of reaching a final consensus on the selection of the selection mechanism for the sovereign positions, as stipulated in Article 15 of the political agreement on sovereign positions, where the final version of the mechanism for selecting the sovereign positions was signed. The two parties agree that consensus is subject to the approval of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of the State, to move forward with the procedures for renewing political office holders.
Triple encounters
On the 11th of October in the Egyptian capital Cairo, the constitutional track consultations between the delegations of the House of Representatives and the state and members of the Libyan Constitutional Commission were launched under the auspices of the United Nations and continued for several days.
Where the meeting discussed the constitutional arrangements for the next stage, related to the conduct of the referendum on the draft constitution completed by the commission, and it was agreed to hold a second round to complete the discussions on the constitutional arrangements, and the outcomes of the last meeting in which they reached to end the transitional phase, either about the details of the referendum on the draft constitution that was not reached. As for the details of the referendum on the draft constitution, no agreement has yet been reached; This leaves options, including a referendum, then holding elections or elections, then a referendum, and that the 18-month period is a preliminary stage for either of them.
The Acting Head of the United Nations Mission to Libya, Stephanie Williams, confirmed the start of the Libyan-Libyan dialogue early next November in Tunisia, in several rounds dominated by understanding and agreement, and the possibility of reaching a final solution to the Libyan crisis that ends with a new government and presidential council, followed by parliamentary and presidential elections.
