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Libyas political class should stop conducting musical chairs to stay in power and focus instead on preparing for nationwide elections to be held by June, the special adviser to the UN secretary general has said.

Stephanie Williams also warned of a possible resurgence of Islamic State if Libya were to fall back into total division.

Libya failed to hold elections for a president and parliament on 24 December partly due to rows over the eligibility of three controversial candidates, but also a wider fear that armed militia across the country would not accept the result if their candidate lost.

In the ensuing month divisions have worsened, as Libyas parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), prepares to install a government to rival the UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU). The HoR says the GNUs mandate expired on 24 December.

Williams told the Guardian in an interview: My fear is that some people may now manoeuvre for a prolonged period of delay. The HoR exists off a mandate that it was given in elections 3,700 days ago. It has been seven years, seven months since Libya went to the national polls. The other chamber, the High State Council, was elected 10 years ago. Their shelf life has long expired. This is ultimately a struggle over assets, power and money. That is quite a motive to hang on.

I want the HoR as quickly as possible to set out a credible political process that answers the question that almost 3 million Libyans have asked, which is: what has become of our elections? It is entirely possible for the HoR to put elections back on track, and for an electoral event to happen by June.

Instead they have turned their attention to the musical chairs game, and the formation of a new government to replace the GNU. Before discussing a new government whose mandate would be unknown, the HoR should set an election date.

Williams said: There is a thirst for elections nearly 2.5 million collected their voting cards and in the city of Benghazi alone 800 people came forward to stand in the parliament. There is another new generation of Libyans that want to exercise their political rights.

She added: Elections can be part of a broader process of national reconciliation, particularly in countries where there has been no elections for a long time and there is an entrenched political elite who have had their noses in the trough for a long time.

She said she was ready to sit down immediately with the two chambers to hammer out a constitutional basis for the elections.

Williams warned the possible formation of two governments in the country could be dangerous. The power vacuum last week led to the re-emergence of Islamic State in the south of the country, and an attempt on the life of the minister of justice.

The spectre of the black flag in the south being raised is something we are all very worried about, and already several Libyan National Army soldiers were killed last week, she said.

The elections set for 24 December never happened partly due to conflicting rulings by Libyan courts on the eligibility of three candidates Gen Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, Saif al-Islam Gadaffi, the son of the former Libyan dictator, and Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, the head of the GNU. The international criminal court is inquiring into the first two while Dbeibah set aside a pledge that he would not stand in the elections, a precondition that had been set for anyone running the interim government.

Williams said it was not for the UN to decide which candidates stood. It is entirely a Libyan decision. But she added: You would have to ask Dbeibah what he thinks of a violation of a moral pledge.

She also called for the wings of the GNU, including its budget, to be clipped before it was replaced by an elected body. The intention endorsed by the UN was for the GNU to be a small technocratic government to deliver services to the municipalities, to prepare for the elections, deal with the Covid crisis and restore electricity. That required only a modest budget.

She also called for the merger of Libyas two central banks, but said this had to be accompanied by complete transparency, a criticism of a previous UN decision last year not to publish a UN-commissioned Deloitte review of the banks finances. She said: Implementation of the merger of the two banks has to be conducted with total transparency. The distribution and management of oil revenues in the country has long been a key driver of this conflict, so need full transparency.

Williams own future as special adviser has been in question since Russia at the UN in New York last week refused to renew the mandate of the UN mission to Libya until a new special envoy was appointed. The mandate expires at the end of this month. Williams, an Arabic-speaking US diplomat, served in 2020 as acting director of the UNs Libya mission after previously being its deputy director.

She was persuaded to come out of retirement after her Russian-backed successor, Jan Kubi, a Slovak, resigned under a welter of criticism. The UN secretary general appointed Williams as his special adviser in early December in part to circumvent Russian objections to her appointment.

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Libya elite told to end game of musical chairs and focus on elections - The Guardian

The EU Special Representative for the Sahel Emanuela Del Re says that without stability in Libya, there will be no stability in the Sahel region.

The EU official made her comments at a meeting in Rome with Admiral Stefano Turchetto, commander of the European Air and Naval Operation Irini, tasked with monitoring the arms embargo on Libya.

She considered the Sahel as "the true southern border of Europe," according to the Nova news agency.

"The region is marred with various crises, including what is happening in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad, where armed groups are moving around, often affiliated with terrorist organizations or private mercenary companies such as the Russian Wagner Group, who are expanding their influence."

She added that the people's lives and their human rights, "which are at risk" are the foundations of the EU's integrated approach and the goal of a joint policy focusing on women and men living in the region.

For his part, Admiral Turchetto highlighted the interdependence between Libya and the Sahel, insisting that peace is their goal for Libya and the entire Sahel region.

"The operation (Irini) supports the implementation of the UN resolutions and the stability and security in the central Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Sahel," Turchetto added.

Continued here:
EU: No peace in the African Sahel region without a stable Libya - The Libya Observer

Religious extremism worries and affects all fields of life in Libya. Therefore, this episode of the Libya Talk program dealt with this issue with its guests, Member of Parliament Ali Al-Takbali, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Al-Huntati, a specialist in Sharia and Quranic sciences, and Khaled Al-Badawi, a journalist and blogger.

The program talked about the reality of extremism, its causes and consequences. The causes of religious extremism were discussed, including the beginning of the threat of extremism in Islam to the role of religious institutions and clerics in promoting extremist discourse.

The programs camera also toured the street and asked people about the issue of extremism and its presence in society and the public mindset.

The drive to extremism

One of the main causes of extremism is the economic factor, a misunderstanding of religion, or a persons desire to be extremist.

Ali Al-Takbali said that all these reasons push for extremism, citing what Imam Ali bin Abi Talib faced throughout history, and considered that the story of Islamic extremism began since then.

Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hinati replied by saying that the main cause of extremism is ignorance in matters of religion in addition to internal and external factors related to the family, school and environment.

Regarding ignorance of religion, Khaled Al-Badawi, also spoke and indicated that he agreed with the Sheikh and believed him with the simple difference that pushing for ignorance, not ignorance itself is the cause of extremism.

Danger of religious extremism in Islam

The history of the beginning of the danger of religious extremism in Islam occupied a part of the program discussion.

In this context, Al-Takbali mentioned that extremism began during the time of the Prophet and after his death. However, he considered that the major strife occurred in the 1980s and in the current century. On the other hand, he spoke of an Islamic awakening. He added that the public discourse has become extremist as a result of the interference of foreigners who want to corrupt Islam.

Al-Badawi agreed with him, adding to the reasons the emergence and diversity of curricula and the difference of opinion among scholars. This, in his opinion, lost the compass, even though the intentions of the scholars were sound.

People on the Libyan streets were asked the following question: Has Libya succeeded in neutralizing the extremist rhetoric? The answers varied between those who considered it successful and those who pointed out the existence of an extremist ideology that distorts religion and throws it into politics.

A way to reduce religious extremism

There must be means to help reduce religious extremism. This was pointed out by Al-Takbali, who stressed the importance of spreading moderate religious discourse through the media, social media, and education.

The Sheikh praised the impact of true science and understanding as enemies of terrorism and extremism, while Al-Badawi stressed that the Quran should be interpreted as it is and that moderation is in the tone of communication.

Libya between religion and politics

The separation between religion and politics is a crucial issue in Libya, and in this context, Al-Takbali referred to the need to spread a non-extremist religious culture, calling for the use of religious legislation in part.

The Sheikh touched on the Tunisian experience by saying that Tunisia is a successful country because it partially uses religious legislation.

As for Al-Badawi, he said that he refuses to separate religion from politics because religion is the law of the land.

The use of religious discourse in politics constituted a major focus of the episode.

Al-Takbali commented that resorting to religious discourse to attract young people to do what benefits Islam is legitimate, refusing to use this discourse to spread hatred, which the Sheikh addressed by commenting that moderate religious discourse is a patriotic act, a legitimate duty, and a civilized method.

Al-Badawi believed that it is possible to use religious discourse in politics, provided that this is done in a positive direction and does not aim to control people and spread fanaticism.

The fate of the next generation

It was necessary to talk about the future of the next generation in the Middle East and North Africa, and whether it is on the verge of extremism or openness.

Al-Takbali warned of a dangerous stage that Libya may experience if the current approach continues. This would, according to him, destroy the concept of moderate Islam. Therefore, he called on the educated youth to be aware of this reality and to follow the religion of God, not the religion of individuals.

For the Sheikh, the ethnic, racial, sectarian and other conflicts are major calamities for Libya and the entire region, which may eventually lead to war.

As for El-Badawi, he seemed optimistic and said that extremism would end if the children were raised well, learned from experience and of the lessons were actually learned.

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Libya Talk discusses: Religious extremism and its threats to Libya - 218 News

Foreign Minister Najla Al-Manqoush on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the building of the Libyan embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, which, in addition to the embassy, will also house the headquarters of the permanent Libyan mission to the African Union.

The Minister delivered a speech on this occasion, stressing the importance for the Libyan embassy and the permanent Libyan mission to function from Addis Ababa, which hosts the AU headquarters and other regional offices and centres.

Al-Manqoush commended the efforts of the AU to achieve unity among African nations, accelerate political, economic, and social integration among the countries of the continent, and strengthen solidarity relations between its people.

She also expressed her gratitude for the efforts of the Libyan embassy staff to enhance cooperation relations between the Libyan state and the Republic of Ethiopia and the services they provide to the citizens, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry's media office.

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Al-Manqoush lays foundation stone for Libyan embassy in Addis Ababa - The Libya Observer

The head of Libyas national oil company has said that his country will try to keep oil production at 1.2 million barrels a day in 2022, but that the company is dealing with serious budget shortfalls

By ADEL OMRAN Associated Press

January 19, 2022, 8:39 PM

2 min read

TRIPOLI, Libya -- The head of Libyas national oil company said on Wednesday that his country is targeting an output of 1.2 million barrels of oil a day in 2022.

Mustafa Sanallah, the head of Libyas national oil corporation, said in a press conference in Tripoli that the countrys industry will strive to keep production at the same level as it achieved in 2021, but that severe budget shortages could pose challenges to maintaining its output.

Libyas top oil body, along with the rest of the country, now faces significant uncertainty after long-awaited presidential elections were delayed last month.

Libya and other OPEC members in agreed in early January to raise production levels despite concerns that the omicron variant of COVID-19 might dampen demand. The 23-member OPEC+ alliance led by oil cartel member Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia said then it would add 400,000 barrels per day in February, sticking with a road map to slowly restore cuts in output made during the depths of the pandemic.

Oil is the cornerstone of the Libyan economy but years of fighting and unrest have severely hindered production.

Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and split the oil-rich North African country between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the countrys east. Each side was backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

In 2021, Libya oil production recovered after a 2020 U.N.-brokered ceasefire ushered in a transitional government that had been meant to oversee the country until national elections. Sanallah said that Libya tripled its oil production in 2021 compared to the previous year, despite periodic closures of some fields due to unrest and outdated equipment.

With a healthy budget, Sanallah said the country could up production to approximately 1.5 million barrels a day, but that as of now the company only has 11 percent of the funds needed to keep facilities maintained and running.

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Libya aims to maintain oil output after elections delay - ABC ...