Paris Conference on Libya Urges for "Fair" Elections
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The Paris International Conference discusses Libya, urging to restore stability by holding successful elections at the end of this year.
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The conference was attended by US Vice President Kamala Harris.
The international community has called for "free and fair" elections on December 24 in Libya.
This comes after the Paris International Conference on Libya was launched, today, Friday, in the presence of several world leaders and concerned parties.
The conference aims to ensure that Libyan elections are held on time by the end of the year and to endorse efforts to remove foreign forces from the country.
Guterres urges the exclusion of foreign elements
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message that “the presence of foreign elements in Libya’s internal political and security affairs is a continued grave concern."
“I call once more for all foreign interference to end,” he said. “Libya today is closer than it has been for many years to solving its internal crisis and breaking the cycle of political transitions."
In addition, the international community has threatened to impose sanctions on those who obstruct the elections in Libya.
Paris conference includes world leaders
The Paris conference brought together leaders of about 30 countries and organizations, including countries that participate in the organization, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, and from the Libyan side, President of the Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi and Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh.
The conference was also attended by officials from most of the countries involved in the Libyan crisis or its settlement, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
France
The French presidency indicated that "the elections are near," stressing that "the country's stability is at stake," and that "the unemployed (who want to disrupt the current dynamic) are lurking in it and trying to derail the process."
"Without these elections, there will be no effective government in Libya next year," a senior US official warned, threatening Paris-style sanctions against those who want to "spoil" the process.
It is worth noting that these elections are supposed to turn the page on a decade of chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 and to end divisions and conflicts between two competing camps.
