Libya’s Rivals Meet in Egyptian Resort Over Constitution

Libyan officials from rival administrations on Tuesday began talks in an Egyptian Red Sea resort about constitutional arrangements for presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, the United Nations said.

According to the UN acting envoy for Libya, Stephanie Williams, failure to find an arrangement will have “negative repercussions on the other tracks, including the security and economic situation.”

She urged the gathering via videocall to wrap up their discussions within a two-month deadline agreed to in November in Tunisia. That agreement also called for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on Dec. 24, 2021.

Oil-rich Libya sunk into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that overthrew and later killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Libya is split between a UN-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in country’s east.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed former Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis on Monday to lead the UN political mission.

Kubis, the current UN envoy in Lebanon, replaces Ghassan Salame who resigned last March amid fierce fighting between Libya’s rival sides over Tripoli.

In October, Libya’s rivals agreed to a UN-brokered cease-fire in Geneva, a deal included the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya within three months. But so far, no progress has been made on that.