A commitment by key Libyan actors to hold elections in December faces multiple obstacles, including the lack of a legal framework for polls and escalating conflict in parts of the country.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the agreement reached in Paris on Tuesday a historic step towards reunifying and stabilising Libya, which has been in turmoil since a NATO-backed revolt toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Tripoli Prime Minister Fayez Seraj, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar and the leaders of two rival parliamentary assemblies endorsed – but did not sign – an eight-point statement that set the date for parliamentary and presidential elections on Dec. 10, with a commitment to establish the constitutional and legal basis by Sept. 16.
But the question of how such a basis will be set – whether by a referendum on a constitutional draft, a new election law, or an adaptation of Libya’s post-uprising constitutional declaration – was left open.
The issue is central because opponents of Haftar, the dominant figure in eastern Libya and a possible candidate for president, want to ensure that presidential and civilian powers over the military are clearly defined before polls are held.
Haftar’s rivals suspect that, given the chance, he would return the country to authoritarian rule. They also blame him for destroying parts of Benghazi and displacing large numbers of residents.
Haftar says he is ridding Libya of Islamist extremists and is committed to the electoral process.
Security is another challenge. Suicide attackers targeted the offices of the electoral commission in Tripoli in May, killing at least 12 people.
Libya has no national security forces to oversee polls, or effective national institutions that can settle legal challenges.
Suspicion is visible on both sides. Some west Libyan armed groups, including from the key military power base of Misrata, see France as too close to their rival Haftar and stated their opposition to the Paris talks before they began.
A senior LNA source stressed that Haftar had not put his signature to any deal. “Sitting does not mean agreeing, and no agreement was signed at the Paris meeting,” he said.
More than 40 eastern members of parliament issued a statement supporting pledges referenced in the Paris declaration to move parliament to Benghazi and to encourage a military unification dialogue in Cairo, a process seen to favour the LNA.
