Deputy Chairman of Libyan Presidency Council: Egypt is main supporter of our country

CAIRO - 8 February 2020: Deputy Chairman of the Libyan Presidency Council, Abdullah Al-Lafi, confirmed that the new council puts a basic consideration for neighboring countries, led by Egypt, in support of stability inside Libya, indicating that Egypt and Libya are linked by a common fate and not just geographically.

In his statement to Egypt Today on Sunday, Al-Lafi, referred to the meetings that Cairo hosted during his work as a member of Parliament, stressing that this promoted good ties with many Egyptian officials concerned with women's affairs and the Libyan file.

Al-Lafi stressed the commitment of the new Presidency Council to the Road Map, which aims to end the transitional phase on the specified date, and to support the constitutional process that will lay solid foundations for the parliamentary and presidential elections.

Among the most important issues are security, the economy, and comprehensive national reconciliation as a practical project, as well as the interest in expanding the circle of participation, especially between youth and women.

On February 6, Libyan delegates at UN-facilitated talks made the surprise choice of Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah as transitional prime minister, along with a three-member presidency council, to govern the war-ravaged North African country until the December elections, Al Arabiya news channel reported.

Mohammad Younes Menfi became the new president of the presidency council in the unity administration, following the vote held outside Geneva and announced by UN envoy Stephanie Williams.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced that eastern-based Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh topped the list of candidates for chairing the three-member Libyan Presidency Council, after securing 25 votes.

Saleh heads the fourth list competing for the positions of a three-member Libyan Presidency Council and Prime Minister.

On Feb. 2, Libyan Parliament Spokesman Fathi Al-Muraimy denied reports about the resignation of Speaker Aguila Saleh from his post to hold the post of head of the presidential council. He also lauded the role of the Egyptian political leadership in unifying the Libyan parties and hosting the Libyan dialogue sessions to restore stability in Libya. “Egypt has also helped Libya get rid of terrorism and foreign interference,” he added.

The third-list candidate Mohammad Younes Menfi came in second place with 20 votes, while the second-list candidate Al-Sharif al-Wafi came in third place with 15 votes, the UNSMIL said in a statement.

The first-list candidate Mohammad Hasan Sleiman al-Bargathi came in fourth place with 13 votes, the statement added.

None of the four lists - each including a candidate for the prime minister and three for a presidency council - secured 60 percent of votes from participants at the UN meeting near Geneva, the threshold needed to win outright in the first ballot.

“A second round will be held to vote on the two lists which obtain the highest number of votes in the first round. The threshold for the second round is 50% + 1 of the valid votes,” the statement noted.

Meetings of the Libyan political dialogue kicked off in Geneva Monday under the auspices of the United Nations and its acting envoy to Libya Stephanie Williams, a statement by the UN Support Mission in Libya said.

The UN envoy hailed the meetings, saying they would pave the way for national election on December 24, 2021.

Egypt welcomed the results of voting for a new Libyan executive power in the UN-led forum in Geneva on Friday, expressing aspiration to work with the new Libyan interim authority over the coming period until the power is transferred to an elected government in elections due to convene on December 24, 2021.

“Egypt called on the Libyans to continue upholding the supreme interest of their country, asking all international and regional parties to support this peaceful path to settle the Libyan crisis, restore stability, put an end to foreign interference in its affairs, and kick all foreign fighters out of Libyan territories,” said the spokesperson of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Friday.

Libya has one of the largest oil reserves in Africa, but the multiple conflicts that ravaged the country prevented the full investment of these resources, while the closure of all oil fields and ports prevented it several times from achieving more than $160 billion.

The routine life of the Libyan citizen has become fraught with difficulties, amid daily electricity, fuel and water cuts, in addition to a liquidity crisis and an unprecedented deterioration in the value of the national currency, amid insecurity.

The most prominent files that pose a significant challenge to the new executive authority are how to control all Libyan lands, fully secure border crossings, and arrange for general elections in the country during the month of December by creating the necessary constitutional basis for that.