The U.N. secretary general's special adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, held talks with Turkish officials in Ankara about the latest situation in the North African country and the road to elections there, which she said might take place before June.
“There is a road map decided on by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum. This is a road map until June this year. I believe that it is highly possible the elections will take place in this period of time,” Williams told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Indicating that the last month saw several positive developments, Williams said that two meetings were held "on the unification of the military establishment between the Chiefs of Staff between the east and west of Libya" and that they saw a movement towards the unification of the Central Bank.
“Currently, I see no will by Libyans to return to war,” the envoy added, saying that calm is being preserved on the ground.
She met with Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and Special Envoy Can Dizdar on Friday.
"We compared notes on political developments in Libya, the electoral process and options for the way forward," Williams said.
The U.N. envoy noted that the officials agreed during the talks "on the importance of a coherent and inclusive regional and international support to Libya that builds on the progress of the ongoing intra-Libyan dialogue."
They also "stressed the need to reinforce the spirit of compromise among Libyan actors for the collective good of the country," she added.
Williams said that Turkey contributed to the U.N. in bringing Libyans together.
Turkey and Libya have enjoyed closer ties in recent years, especially after the signing of security and maritime boundary pacts in November 2019 and Turkey's aid to help the legitimate Libyan government push back putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar's forces.
Speaking on the elections, Williams stressed that there is no dominant view among Libyans but rather a wide range of differing opinions, which poses challenges.
“There are those who say that a constitutional basis is needed for the elections to continue. There are those who want the draft constitution to be submitted to a referendum. There are those who want the list of presidential candidates to be subject to some kind of judicial review in order to clear the blockage and go directly to the elections. There are those who want to elect a deputy.”
“However,” she said, “there is will among Libyan sides to negotiate.”
“If there is a will, there is a path for Libyans.”
Libya's House of Representatives in December deemed the vote, meant to bring an end to the years of conflict in the North African nation, "impossible" to hold on time.
The poll was meant to take place just over a year after a landmark east-west cease-fire in a country that has been ravaged by a decade of conflict since the 2011 revolt that overthrew dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
But the run-up to the country's first-ever presidential election has been overshadowed by angry disputes over its legality and the candidacies of several controversial figures, including Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi.
One point of contention was a presidential elections law controversially passed by Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, which critics say bypassed due process and favored his ally, Haftar.
The law was strongly opposed by factions in western Libya, where Haftar had waged a yearlong battle to seize Tripoli.
The electoral board has suggested pushing the vote back by a month to Jan. 24, but given the enmity between the eastern-based parliament and authorities in Tripoli, agreeing on a new date will be far from easy.
Williams further elaborated that Libya has been in a transitional period since 2011 and needs permanent institutions.
“It needs democratically elected institutions. Institutions that are united, that can ensure the necessary security for the population, that can secure the borders of the country and can serve the population,” she added, saying that the best way to do this is for the Libyan people to go to the polls.
Evaluating whether it would be logical to establish a transitional government for the elections, Williams said that it should be focused on the election process.
"Libya has seen five transition periods. Five transitional rulers. I don't think the solution is necessarily another transitional ruler. I think the remedy is a solid political horizon that leads to elections for an elected government, an elected president and of course a more permanent situation with a strong legal and constitutional basis.”
