AU welcomes meeting between presidents of Libya's two parliamentary chambers
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki, has welcomed the meeting in Morocco between the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament and the chairman of the High State Council, expressing the hope that it would be the beginning of a political dialogue to end the impasse in the North African country.
"I welcome the meeting between the Speaker of Parliament and the chairman of the High State Council of Libya in Morocco and hope that it augurs well for a political dialogue for the solution of the institutional impasse in Libya," Faki wrote in a tweet on Saturday.
The speaker of Parliament, Agulia Saleh, and the chairman of the High State Council, Khaled Al-Mechri, pledged at the end of their second meeting, in Rabat, to unify the executive power by early 2023 and to fill the regalian positions of the state.
They also pledged to work towards organising legislative and presidential elections as soon as possible, in accordance with the roadmap of the national dialogue.
Faced with an impasse in its process since the postponement of last December's elections, Libya has been left with two competing governments, a situation that has heightened tension in the country to the point of leading to direct armed clashes and deepening polarisation and institutional division.
The organisation of general elections as a solution, which is unanimously supported by Libyans and the international community, is hampered by disagreement on a legal framework for the holding of the polls.
The Parliament and the High Council of State did not reach a consensus on a legal text at the end of the talks in Cairo and Geneva because of disagreements on the eligibility of dual nationals and military personnel.
The African Union (AU) has considerably increased its involvement in the search for a solution in Libya through international and local efforts to help mediate between the parties to the conflict.
The AU was behind the appointment of Senegalese Abdoulaye Bathily as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Furthermore, the AU through the AU High Level Committee on Libya is involved in the national reconciliation process by providing technical support to the Libyan Presidential Council which is leading the national reconciliation process.
The Pan-African organisation is considering holding a conference on national reconciliation in Libya in an inclusive manner with the support of the Presidential Council.
-0- PANA BY/IS/BBA/MA 23Oct2022
