Libya PM expresses support for landmark December 24 election

Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah has supported the holding of a national election on December 24 as envisaged in a UN-backed peace plan.

Speaking at the Libya Stabilization Conference in Tripoli, he said it was possible to end the lengthy crisis that has engulfed the country since the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

"We support the efforts of the higher election committee to hold (the vote) on the planned date. I call for a wide and effective participation of Libyans in the elections," Dbeibah said.

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The election, agreed under a UN-supported peace process, has been viewed as a key step in efforts to end a decade of violence by creating a new political leadership whose legitimacy is widely accepted.

Wrangling over the constitutional basis for an election, the rules governing the vote and questions over its credibility have threatened to unravel the peace process.

The United Nations process has called for presidential and parliamentary elections for December 24.

However, although the parliament has issued a law for the presidential election on that date, it has issued a separate law saying the parliamentary elections will happen at a later date.

Other political institutions in Libya have rejected the parliament's proposals.

Non-Interference

Libya has had little stability since the uprising against Gaddafi and the legitimacy of its various political institutions have been questioned repeatedly since then.

Any move to hold an election without widespread acceptance by rival political institutions could lead major factions to reject the vote, potentially triggering another violent schism.

Unifying the country's fragmented armed forces, divided between a host of groups split between two broad coalitions in the east and west, as well as resolving the role of foreign powers and mercenaries in Libya, is also crucial.

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The role of major foreign states is seen as critical to keeping in check any major players that may seek to sabotage the process if they believe their interests are threatened.

However, the international community has been split over the Libya conflict, with Turkey and Qatar backing the UN-backed government while France, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt backs warlord Khalifa Haftar against it.

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