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Libyas two main warring factions elected a new transitional government at a United Nations-organized summit, taking a tentative step toward political unity after years of conflict that have devastated the North African country.

Delegates at the summit in Geneva on Friday elected a businessman, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, as Libyas prime minister, the U.N.s acting special envoy for Libya said. He will serve alongside Mohammad Younes Menfi, a former ambassador to Greece, who was elected head of Libyas presidency council.

The country has been split between several governments and multiple militias since 2014, when a transition to democracy that began after the ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 unraveled.

The formation of the new government comes months after the end of a 14-month war between the rival factions, which are backed by foreign powers with competing interests that brought them to the brink of direct conflict last year.

Mr. Dbeibahs election came as a surprise, as he beat a rival list of political heavyweights, including the current interior minister in the internationally recognized government who had hoped to become prime minister.

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Libya Forms Transitional Unity Government After Years Of Conflict - The Wall Street Journal

Libyans hope a new political transitional can unite the country and bring about a reconciliation process but many hurdles remain.

Recently, delegates from opposite sides at a UN-sponsored forum voted for Libyas interim prime minister and a three-member presidential council with the aim of holding national elections in December 2021.

Libyan delegates in Geneva elected Abdul Hamid Dbeibah from the western city of Misrata, as prime minister, and Mohamed al Manfi from the east as the head of the presidency council.

Choosing a new interim government seems to be a significant move towards unifying the oil rich country, which has been divided since 2014 between two parallel institutions, one in the east backed by Khalifa Haftar and the other in the west, the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al Sarraj and established through the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).

The election is part of a UN-backed settlement process and follows a ceasefire deal on 23 October 2020, after the collapse of a fourteen-month assault led by the warlord Haftar who controls much of the east, aimed at taking over the capital, Tripoli, from the UN- backed GNA.

With Turkish support, the internationally recognised government in Tripoli has managed to fend off and claw back territory from Haftar, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, France and Russia.

On Saturday, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Dbeibah and Manfi to congratulate them and stated that Turkey would continue its efforts for political unity, territorial integrity, stability, peace, security and prosperity in Libya, and further enhance its cooperation with Libya in the new period.

Dbeibah recently said that Turkey is an ally, friend, and a brotherly state, and it has huge capabilities to help the Libyans achieve their real goals. Turkey is considered a real partner to Libya.

The long road ahead

Heading towards the December election would be an important step forward if it takes place. However the situation remains fragile, as many factors and dynamics surrounding the political settlement could still derail the process.

First, the House of Representatives (HoR) must approve the newly selected executive authority in three weeks, and if the HoR fails to do so, the decision would go to members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).

Given that the Libyan parliament has been divided since 2015 and hasnt held an official session for years, it seems likely the decision would go to the LPDF, which doesnt bode well for a smooth transition.

That various armed groups, both in western and eastern Libya, will actually respect the results also remains to be seen. As part of last Octobers ceasefire agreement, foreign fighters and mercenaries were supposed to leave the country in three months. That deadline passed, but reportedly they are still on the ground.

A by-product of the civil war, the increasing involvement of foreign powers and the continuing insecurity and presence of mercenaries are detrimental to Libyas oil industry. Providing significant support for a new interim government from the UN Security Council and NATO could lead to the removal of mercenaries from the country.

Despite being out of the political scene, Haftar is hoping to remain a player in a military capacity. While comparatively weaker since April 2019, he still has enough power to disrupt ongoing peace negotiations on account of the UAEs vital support.

Reportedly, foreign capitals had selected their preferred lists to jockey for advantage. In this regard, Cairo, Paris and Moscow invested in local allies such as Aguila Saleh, who ended up losing. At this point, its not clear whether they will genuinely accept the outcome.

This new unity government could provide a fresh hope to pave the way for a more democratic and peaceful transition of power in the near future. However, there is a long way to go before the slated December election.

It is crucial to see how militia groups on the ground and their external backers play their hands. Going forward, foreign actors including the new US administration should coordinate their approach to support UN efforts, providing a safe environment in a way that would encourage Libyans to take part in the process of reconciliation and to support paths of reconstruction and development.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT World.

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Libyas new unity government is a start. But a long road lies ahead. - TRT World

A general view of the talks between the rival factions in the Libya conflict at the United Nations offices in Geneva, Switzerland October 20, 2020 . Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS

CAIRO - 9 February 2020: The head of the Egyptian National Committee for Libyan Affairs delivered a speech, Tuesday, during the third meetings of the Libyan Constitutional Track, in which he stressed the importance of exploiting the positive atmosphere that the Libyan crisis is currently experiencing to choose a new executive body and a Council of Ministers, and implement the outputs of the Military Committee 5 + 5.

The third meetings of the Libyan Constitutional Track began runs from February 9-11 in Hurghada, in the presence of delegations of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State under the auspices of the United Nations. The meetings are chaired by Emad al-Sayeh, chairman of Libya's High National Election Commission, and aims to discuss ways to conduct the referendum on the Libyan constitution.

It is worth mentioning that the recently-appointed UN Special Envoy to Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Jan Kubis, delivered a speech in his first official appearance after assuming the position, succeeding Stephanie Williams, in which he thanked the Egyptian government for its support for political solutions and for hosting the constitutional process.

Kubis pointed out the importance of this meeting as it directly affects the citizen through the Libyans' agreement on the form of the referendum they want.

Egypt is adopting a strategy of opening up to all Libyan parties supporting a political solution, as part of its support for efforts to defuse the crisis in the country.

Egypt earlier announced an initiative, dubbed the Cairo Declaration, which posits a Libyan-Libyan resolution as a basis for resolving the countrys conflict, drawing on earlier international efforts, including the Berlin conference.

On September 22, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi addressed several ongoing topics in the speech he gave at the United Nations 75th General Assembly, which was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

President Sisi said that his country is committed to a political solution for the current crisis in Libya based on the Skhirat agreement, the Berlin conference, and the Cairo Declaration, which set a schedule for establishing a consensual government.

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Chairman of the Egyptian National Committee of Libyan Affairs calls to exploit current positive atmosphere to solve Libyan crisis - Egypttoday

SG/SM/20572

The following statement by UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres was issued today:

Today we have very good news in our search for peace. I welcome the selection by members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum of a unified temporary executive authority.

I call on all members of the dialogue and the Libyan and international stakeholders to respect the results of the vote.

I congratulate the three new members of the Presidential Council and the Prime Minister Designate on their selection, but also, I wish them every success in their mandate to lead the country for the remainder of the Preparatory Phase leading up to national elections on 24 December 2021.

I welcome the pledges made by the new executive authority to form a Government reflecting political pluralism, geographic representation, and its commitment to include no less than 30 per cent of women in executive positions, as well as to ensure the participation of youth.

I also call on the new executive authority and all concerned Libyan stakeholders to uphold the principles and timelines set out in the Tunis Road Map.

I thank the members of the political dialogue for successfully shouldering this historic responsibility.

My appreciation also extends to the Government of Switzerland for hosting the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, to the members of the Berlin Process for their continued support and to my Acting Special Representative, Stephanie Williams, for her leadership, commitment and tireless efforts for facilitating the intra-Libyan dialogue.

The United Nations commitment to support the Libyan people in their efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous country will continue. After the ceasefire that was agreed, the election that now took place shows that Libya is moving in the right direction.

For information media. Not an official record.

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Secretary-General Welcomes Libya Political Dialogue Forum's Selection of Temporary Executive Authority, Calls upon All Parties to Respect Tunis Road...

The Governments of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America welcome the agreement reached by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum on a unified interim Libyan executive authority charged with leading the country to national elections on December 24, 2021.

This critical step towards reaching a negotiated, inclusive political solution is the result of a genuinely Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process, the mediation of the United Nations, and the support of the Libyan people. In this respect, we commend the extraordinary commitment of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya and of Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General Stephanie Williams. We look forward to fully supporting the work of Special Envoy Jn Kubi.

We call on all current Libyan authorities and actors to ensure a smooth and constructive handover of all competences and duties to the new unified executive authority.

Since the Berlin Conference, Libya has made significant progress toward securing lasting peace and stability, including through the reopening of the energy sector, the nationwide ceasefire agreement of 23 October 2020, the roadmap for holding national elections in December 2021, and now the selection of a unified, interim executive authority.

A long road still lies ahead. The unified executive authority will have to implement the ceasefire agreement, provide essential public services to the Libyan people, initiate a program for meaningful reconciliation, address critical national budget needs, and organize national elections. The new interim government, to be proposed by the designated Prime Minister, should be truly inclusive, allowing all Libyans to be represented, including with regard to gender, ethnicity and regional origin.

We call on the delegates of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to maintain their important function, guaranteeing the focus of the new unified executive authority on preparing and holding elections as decided by the Forum.

At the Berlin Conference on Libya last year, the international community committed to supporting a resolution to Libyas conflict. In the spirit of that commitment, all participants of the Conference should now support the new executive authority in fulfilling its duties to the Libyan people, fully implement the arms embargo, and support the immediate withdrawal of all foreign fighters and mercenaries.

We stand ready to hold to account those who threaten stability or undermine the political process in Libya.

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Libya - Statement by spokespersons of the foreign ministries of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States (05 Feb. 2021) -...