Libya: What is Expected Following Cairo Talks Conclusion? (Report)

The Libyan-Libyan consultations on the constitution file and a number of outstanding issues will conclude in Cairo today, Friday. In the meantime, Stephanie Williams, the deputy head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), stressed that the consultations of the Joint Committee of the House of Representatives and the Consultative State, in Cairo, are on its fifth day, full of a spirit of cooperation and positivity.

Williams said on Twitter that the joint committee consultations of the House of Representatives and the State Supreme Court sought consensus on a comprehensive constitutional framework for holding national elections as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister-designate of Libya's Parliament, Fathi Bashagha, discussed with British Ambassador Caroline Horndel the military escalation carried out by armed groups affiliated with the Abdulhamid Dbeibeh government in Tripoli.

At the same time, he urged the international community to take actions against behaviors of the Dbeibeh government.

To the British ambassador to Libya, Bashagha reiterated his commitment to the principle of preserving the ceasefire agreement and the safety of civilians.

Simultaneously, the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Dbeibeh, reassured the diplomatic missions and representatives of countries in Libya on the situation in the capital. He said that the security situation in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is stable.

The clashes erupted last Tuesday after the Prime Minister appointed by Parliament, Bashagha, tried to enter Tripoli, while the National Unity Government headed by Dbeibeh mobilized, refusing to give up power, and forced him to retreat and leave the city.

Differences emerged during the first round of talks held in the middle of last month, as the State Council supports the formulation of a constitutional rule that leads to elections, while Parliament wants to amend controversial texts in the constitution in accordance with the 12th Amendment, and then put it to a referendum as a constitution regulating political life and elections.

Since it failed to hold its elections as planned, Libya has faced great difficulties in achieving stability and peace, with the strengthening of the political pision between two governments that are quarreling over legitimacy and geography between its cities.

The United Nations is counting on the success of these constitutional talks to push all the conflicting political parties to return to the electoral process, and to put the country on the election track again.