Libyan politicians described the recent US threat to sanction those obstructing the electoral process in Libya, as ineffective, and cannot be applied to many personalities.
Politicians saw that the unity government is preoccupied with signing international agreements and engaging in reforming what was destroyed.
A Libyan member of the House of Representatives, Jibril Awhida, who described the American threat as useless, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper: “It is necessary first to determine the reasons for the obstruction so that it does not appear as if we are looking for two imaginary obstacles.”
Awhida said that obstruction comes from the executive authority that was chosen at the conclusion of the political dialogue forum, which was supposed to adhere to the terms of reference mentioned in the articles of this forum, which is the implementation of all the measures required to make the road map succeed, aiming to reach the elections on the scheduled date.
He asked: “Why did the executive authority not issue clear decisions to leave mercenaries and foreign forces from the country and to dissolve the military formations? Note that all these conditions and entities impede the elections.”
Awhida considered that “the executive authority has abandoned priorities and set out to direct development plans, study contracts and agreements, and act as if they remain for years and not months, which indicates its lack of seriousness, or its desire to change the status quo.”
He called on the United States and the international community to pressure them “to take action and issue these decisions.”
Awhida blamed the leadership of the UN mission in Libya, saying: “The House of Representatives and the High Council of State agreed during the Egyptian Hurghada meetings on the referendum on the draft constitution, and the possibility of setting up an alternative basis if it was popularly rejected, but we were surprised that the UN envoy Jan Kubis resorted to the Legal Committee of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to present us with a proposal for a constitutional basis, which will lead us to a new transitional stage, and this is difficult to accept.”
Meanwhile, a member of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, Lamis bin Saad, called on the political parties “not to underestimate the threat issued by the American delegate, and to deal with it seriously.”
She explained, in her interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, that there is “a clear interest by the American administration in the file of the elections, and the need to hold them on time, and given the fragility of the situation in Libya, and everyone’s knowledge of the desire of several parties to obstruct the elections, the international community and the parties have become In particular, actors issue threats that obstructors will be subject to the sanctions list, as a form of early warning of the consequences of compromising the electoral process.
She added that “doubts and fears exist in the Libyan street, because everyone knows how most of the personalities and legislative and executive councils have extended their powers and periods of work over the past years, and thus they have fears of a repetition of this scenario.”
For his part, the Libyan political analyst, Faraj Farkash, described the American delegate’s speech as “It does not carry anything new, and is in line with other statements made by more than one American and international official during the recent period regarding the elections, and the general situation in the country.
Farkash told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the sanctions available to the United States to restrain the spoilers are ineffective for some figures.”
The political analyst added, that the demand for “the political isolation of the obstructors is a matter that requires international consensus.”
He doubted the existence of an international consensus regarding holding the elections, “despite the large number of positions announced by several countries on this matter.”
Faraj Farkash called on everyone inside and outside the country to objectively review the date of the elections, if they were really seeking the interest of Libya.
Political analyst Faraj Farkash continued his speech by saying: “Everyone understands that elections are not a goal, but rather a means of change from the transitional phase to a permanent one.”
Farkash said: “The permanent phase will not succeed except by exerting an effort to unify the military and security institutions first, dismantling military formations, and reintegrating those who are fit individually and systematically into state institutions, which will contribute to ending the crisis of mistrust between the parties in the political arena, and paving the way for an atmosphere from national reconciliation, the return of the displaced and the displaced, and thus the referendum on the constitution.”
Faraj Farkash concluded his speech to the newspaper, saying: “Success in these steps will be positively reflected in the push to remove foreign forces and (mercenaries), and then hold fair elections without any threat and the content of acceptance of their results .. in addition, postponing the election date may be a better option than sticking to the date chosen an ill-considered manner because this will only lead to a relocation of the crisis, and unfortunately, perhaps to more complex and violent levels.”
