UN calls on Libyan leaders to end transitional period

UN envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily has called on the country's leaders to put an end to the transitional period and set the ground to hold elections.

Bathily made the call in a speech on Saturday, the 71st anniversary of Libya's Independence Day, marked annually on December 24.

"This year, however, Independence Day feels bittersweet as it also marks the first anniversary of the postponement of general elections which were supposed to be held on 24 December 2021," Bathily said.

The UN envoy urged Libyans to make year 2023 as "a new era for the country, including through the holding of free and fair elections".

He also stressed that the UN will continue to work "constructively" with different Libyan parties and leaders "to prevent further division and avoid wasting more time".

READ MORE: Several bodies exhumed from mass grave in Libya's Tarhuna

Parliament withdraws law

On Saturday, Libya’s parliament retracted a law to establish a constitutional court in the eastern city of Benghazi following controversy.

This came in a joint statement issued by the East Libya-based House of Representative and the Tripoli-based High Council of State (HCS), which acts as a senate.

"We agreed not to issue the law establishing the Constitutional Court so that it does not conflict with the outcomes of the constitutional rule,” the statement said.

“This statement comes as a reassurance to all political parties regarding the controversy over the aforementioned law,” it added.

On December 7, HCS chairman Khaled al Mishri suspended communications with Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh until the law is revoked.

READ MORE: Why Libya's rival factions have escalated tensions in the capital Tripoli

The two rivals have been conducting negotiations for months to agree on a constitutional basis for holding elections in the war-torn country.

Oil-rich Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011 when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.