The Libyan crisis should be settled by holding an international conference in July and elections in October, the African Union said in a Tuesday communique.
The General Assembly assigned head of the African Union Commission (AUC) Moussa Faki Mahamat to prepare for the international conference in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, where Libyan factions come together to reach a consensus for the sake of Libyan interests under the sponsorship of the United Nations and the AU.
Following the two-day 32nd AU Summit in Addis Ababa, during which Libya was represented, the statement called on the African Commission to work with the UN and the Libyan authorities to pave the way for presidential and parliamentary elections in October 2019.
The planned conference follows two European attempts, the Paris Conference and the Palermo Conference in 2018, both of which have thus far produced no tangible results.
The AU is actively involved in seeking lasting peace in Libya through the AU High-Level Committee on Libya, comprised of the organization’s member states representing the five African sub-regions and Libya’s neighboring countries.
The election had been scheduled to be held in 2018, but it was delayed as thus far Libyan authorities have not reached a consensus over the draft constitution.
Earlier this month, head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salamé, told BBC news that Libya is witnessing a “conflict over oil;” hence the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections has not been set.
“We do not want to repeat the 2014 experience when elections were held, but not all parties accept its outcomes. I work hard and will not answer the accusations made by some parties on the mission,” he said.
