After postponing the elections in Libya, a parliamentary committee to develop a new road map and an international warning against undermining stability

The Libyan House of Representatives formed a 10-member committee to develop a new road map after postponing the elections that were scheduled for today, Friday, and for its part, the United Nations warned against undermining stability more than a year after the ceasefire and the formation of a national unity government.

Yesterday, the Council said that it had issued a decision to form a committee comprising 10 of its members to prepare a proposal for a roadmap beyond December 24.

He added - on his official website - that the committee will submit its report to the office of the Presidency within a week, "to present it to the House of Representatives during its next session."

The Parliamentary Committee had proposed, on Wednesday, to postpone the date of the elections by a month, confirming a delay that was expected to a large extent, amid disagreements over the rules, including the eligibility of a number of candidates to run in the race.

One of the sources said, "The House of Representatives will hold a session in Tobruk (east) next Monday to discuss the report of the parliamentary committee that was tasked with communicating with the High Electoral Commission and the Supreme Judicial Council to discuss the legal defect that accompanied the electoral process."

"The session will study the commission's request to postpone the elections for a month until January 24," he added.

The fate of the government

This source revealed several possible scenarios that may emerge from the next session, including assigning a new government or making a cabinet reshuffle to the current one and continuing its assignment to conduct business.

Since the start of the process of preparing for the presidential elections over the past weeks, security incidents have been recorded in some electoral centers in the west of the country.

Armed men surrounded the seat of the Sebha Court (south) for days before allowing it to work again, in order to accept the appeal of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the controversial candidate who is wanted internationally and is ruled locally, in the decision to exclude him by the Electoral Commission, and return him to the presidential race.

The President of the Presidential Council, Muhammad al-Manfi, said that the council pledged to be a safety valve to pass to fair elections, and to spare the Libyan people the scourge of war.

International appeal

As for the UN advisor in charge of Libyan affairs, Stephanie Williams, she said that the current challenges related to the electoral process in the country should not undermine the stability that has been achieved in the past months.

"In no way should current challenges in the electoral process be used to undermine the stability and progress that has been made in Libya over the past 15 months," Williams said.

It expressed its readiness to work with the relevant Libyan institutions, and a wide range of concerned parties, to confront these challenges through good offices and mediation efforts.

"Presidential and parliamentary elections must be held in appropriate conditions, on an equal footing, with the need to respect and ensure equal opportunities for all candidates to end the political transition peacefully and transfer power to democratically elected institutions," she added.

The UN advisor called on the relevant institutions and all political actors to focus on the electoral process, and to create political and security conditions to ensure the holding of comprehensive, free, fair, peaceful and credible elections, the outcome of which is acceptable to all parties.