Libya's Haftar Calls for Unified Government to Oversee Polls

Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
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Libya's Haftar Calls for Unified Government to Oversee Polls

Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Libya's eastern commander Khalifa Haftar speaks to the media after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential elections at the office of the High National Elections Commission, in Benghazi, Libya November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar called Friday for a unified government of technocrats to organize long-delayed elections, in place of the rival administrations currently vying for control.

Libya has been torn by more than a decade of stop-start conflict since a NATO-backed revolt toppled strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with a myriad of militias forming opposing alliances backed by foreign powers, said AFP.

The country remains split between a nominally interim government in Tripoli in the west, and another in the east backed by Haftar.

Presidential and parliamentary elections were due to be held in December 2021 but were never organized as differences persisted on key issues including who should be allowed to stand.

Last week, both sides agreed on the legal steps to hold the elections following talks in Morocco, but stopped short of signing a deal, suggesting that some differences remain.

Among the contested points are the candidacy of dual nationals and soldiers.

Haftar also holds US citizenship, and his detractors accuse him of seeking to restore military dictatorship in Libya.

The United Nations, which hopes the elections could take place before the end of the year, has said it would work toward helping iron out differences between the rival sides.

On Friday, a statement from Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army urged the rival administrations “to end the political divisions and form a new unified government comprising technocrats tasked with organizing elections.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said that UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily had “initiated a series of meetings with political leaders in Libya, regional and international partners, and other stakeholders to hear their analysis and discuss potential ways forward.”

According to the statement, some of Bathily’s interlocutors voiced concerns over the agreement struck last week in Morocco which, they claimed, “could hinder elections from a practical and political standpoint.” It gave no further details.



Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
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Palestinian President Abbas Appoints New Deputy in Major Step in Naming Successor

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, gestures during an interview with The Associate Press at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 13, 2022. (AP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Abbas has led both entities for two decades.