UN envoy says hard to hold Libya elections in December

AFP  |  Tripoli 

The UN to told AFP that it will be difficult to hold elections as hoped on December 10, following a new wave of fighting in the North African nation.

Rival Libyan leaders agreed to a Paris-brokered deal in May to hold a nationwide poll by the end of the year.

But Salame said that polls may not be organised before "three or four months".

"We can hold elections in the near future, yes. But certainly not now," he added in the interview on Saturday evening at the highly fortified UN mission in

Militia clashes in Tripoli's suburbs have left more than 100 people dead since late August.

remains divided between the UN-backed (GNA) based in and a rival administration in the east that enjoys support from Egypt, and the

The GNA was set up under a 2015 UN-brokered deal that raised hopes of an easing of the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed revolution which ousted Libyan dictator

The meeting brought together for the first time GNA and military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose self-styled dominates the country's east.

Also present were Aguila Saleh Issa, the based in the eastern city of Tobruk, and Khalid Al-Mishri, the of the

The agreement included a September 16 deadline to come up with an electoral law, forming the "constitutional base" for a vote later in the year.

But many observers have said the timetable was overly ambitious given ongoing instability and territorial disputes across the country, along with a economy that is flagging despite Libya's vast

The is hoping that presidential and will help turn the page on years of chaos in

On Monday France called for stronger UN sanctions on Libyans who stand in the way of a

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, September 30 2018. 13:35 IST