France Denies Reports on Giving up Seat in UN Security Council

The Élysée Palace (Palais de l'Élysée), headquarter of the French Presidency, issued a statement to deny what was mentioned by” The Telegraph”, a UK daily newspaper, that France has proposed to give up her seat in the United Nations Security Nations (UNSC).

The French Presidency tweeted today, Wednesday, that France’s seat in the UNSC is her right and remains it so.

It is worth noting that British media outlets revealed today that France has proposed to give up her seat in the UNSC to the European Union for accepting her proposal to create a unified European army.

On the other hand, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that his country is going to host an international conference in Libya next November.

Le Drian explained that the conference, which Germany and Italy will participate in the preparation for, will be held on November 12, and aims to ensure the implementation of the election schedule and to discuss the exit of foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya.

Paris‘ announcement of the international conference coincides with Libya’s preparations to hold elections at the end of next December as new differences emerged between the parties to the Libyan conflict.

On the other hand, the “High Council of State” in Libya put forward a road map that includes holding parliamentary elections on time and postponing the presidential elections until after the referendum on the constitution.

Head of the Council of State  Khaled Al-Mashri had  revealed during a press conference in Tripoli that the council had prepared a “constitutional rule” and proposed to include it in the constitutional declaration, as well as a proposal to hold “parliamentary elections to establish a two-chambered parliament (senators and representatives) on December 24.”

He said that the goal of achieving stability requires holding parliamentary elections first, and postponing the presidential elections until after the constitutional referendum.

He asked parliament to postpone the presidential elections scheduled for December 24 for at least a year, amid disagreements over the electoral law.

Al-Mashri said that the “High Council of State” believes that “holding the presidential elections in the current period will not generate stability.”

He pointed out that the goal is not to hold the elections as a goal in itself, but rather to achieve stability.

He added that after the elections, the entities that “bear the burdens of inconsistencies during the last period” will emerge, such as the Tobruk House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State, and that “there will be a newly elected parliament that is required to submit the draft constitution to a referendum within a year.”

With their due date approaching, Libyans still do not agree on a constitutional basis regulating the conduct of legislative and presidential elections.