Historic agreement in Libya..Unified government and technical committee to reform electoral laws

The heads of Libya’s parliament, state and presidential chambers reached an agreement that could pave the way for ending the state of division during a meeting in Cairo under the auspices of the Arab League.

The meeting, which was held on Sunday, was attended by the head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, the head of the High Council of State, Mohamed Tekala, and the speaker of the House of Representatives in Benghazi, Aguila Saleh.

The meeting was held at the invitation of the Arab League, with the aim of bringing views closer and resolving points related to the presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.

According to a joint statement, the meeting agreed to form a technical committee aimed at studying the appropriate amendments to expand the base of consensus and acceptance and resolve controversial points in accordance with the legislation in force in the country.

The agreement stipulated the need to form a unified government to supervise the electoral process, provide basic services to citizens, and unify sovereign positions.

The statement called on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the international community to support this consensus in order to ensure its success.

A second round of meetings is scheduled to be held urgently to finalize the agreement and move to the implementation phase.

The agreement is part of ongoing efforts to achieve a political settlement in Libya and end the years-long conflict.

Libyans hope to hold elections to end conflicts and divisions that have materialized since the beginning of 2022 in the presence of two governments, one headed by Osama Hammad and assigned by the House of Representatives (east), and the other recognized by the United Nations and based in the capital Tripoli (west), known as the “Government of National Unity” headed by Abdul Hamid Dabaiba.

Dabaiba has repeatedly stressed that he will not cede power to a new government without holding national elections, while he has not made an official comment on the Cairo meeting.