Hope for Libya as leaders agree to elections and power-sharing

Meeting in the UAE hailed as a breakthrough, but experts fear it is ‘delusional’ to think it will be a panacea

RIVAL Libyan leaders yesterday reached an agreement that may help end the years of chaos that have gripped the North African nation since its 2011 uprising.

In what were described as “breakthrough” talks, Fayez al-Sarraj, the leader of the UN-backed government, and military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who heads a competing administration, agreed in principle to hold elections in 2018 and to power-sharing.

The unexpected meeting, which took place in the United Arab Emirates, was their first conducted face-to-face in nearly 18 months.

Mr Sarraj heads the Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital Tripoli. The West threw its support behind him in the hope that he would unify the country, but he failed to win the approval of parliament and rival armed groups in the east. General Haftar’s self-declared Libyan National Army, which controls more than two thirds of the country, has refused to recognise the authority of the GNA.

No official statement was issued after the talks, but reports suggest fresh elections will be held within six months and the UN-backed government’s presidency council reduced from nine to three members.

The three would comprise Gen Haftar as the army commander, Mr Serraj and Aguila Saleh Issa, the head of parliament. The UN has been opposed to the head of the armed forces being in full political control of the country and Mr Sarraj’s forces have expressed concern that promoting Gen Haftar may potentially open the door to a military dictatorship.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and resulted in his death. The oil-producing nation now is split between rival governments and warring militias.

The turmoil has transformed Libya

‘It sounds pretty delusional to me to be able to hold elections anytime soon’

into a popular departure point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, and the major power vacuum has allowed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and other extremists to gain a foothold.

There was optimism after the meeting, but it remains unclear how such a vote would be carried out in the fractured war-torn country.

“It sounds pretty delusional to be able to hold elections anytime soon,” said Mattia Toaldo, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He added that he could not see where western Libya and powerful militias in Tripoli supportive of Mr Sarraj fit into the picture. “The complete risk is that you have messy elections in a messy country with low turnout, and therefore, low legitimacy for anyone winning them,” he said.