ALBAWABA - Libya is said to go to the polls sometime this year. This is at least the goal as stated by the government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
“2023 will be the year of elections in Libya,” he said, speaking in a cabinet meeting in Tripoli.
Libyans are cautiously hopeful by the comments despite the fact that the presidential and parliamentary elections supposed to have taken place on 24 December, 2021 were hastily cancelled.
There are 2.8 million voters in the country and the elections were supposed to heal Libya which was in chaos since 2014 and run by two administrations, one in the west based in Tripoli, lead by Dbeibeh and recognized by the UN and the other in Benghazi backed by warlord Khalifa Haftar with its own government lead by Fathi Bashagha.
The UN is working hard to bring peace to Libya and the previous elections were supposed to be as a result of its mediation so there is a still a long way to go and much to sort out by the warring parties.
However, Dbeibeh is optimistic. “Year 2023 will be the time for elections and for the unification of institutions, sectors and civil organizations.”
The two administrations are willing to talk to each other. and Libya’s Tripoli-based High Council of State (HCS) on Monday voted to resume dialogue with the East Libya-based Libyan parliament after a three-week hiatus.
