UNSMIL coordinator Riasedon Zenega, said the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) members discussed the Legal Committee’s proposal for a constitutional basis for the 24 December elections and considered the unresolved issues, yet in the end, they were unable to resolve these outstanding issues.

“It is regrettable that, despite all the opportunities, there is still no common ground. The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 December. This does not bode well for the credibility and relevance of the LPDF.” Zenega said.

Zenega added that UNSMIL will continue to work with LPDF members and the Proposals Bridging Committee to explore further efforts to build common ground based on the Legal Committee’s proposal as all of us acknowledge that this is the reference framework for a constitutional basis for elections on 24 December 2021.

He added that proposals that do not make the elections feasible and possible to hold elections on 24 December will not be entertained.

13 members were selected Thursday by the LPDF as a Proposals Bridging Committee, which proposed: holding parliamentary elections only in December and then presidential elections based on a permanent constitution; or holding presidential elections without any preconditions (Haftar loyalists' demand), or approving the constitution draft for no more than one term and then holding elections as per the draft.