Libya’s caretaker government should not delay the planned elections in December, as the war-torn country seeks to return to peace and security, Libya’s former interior minister Fathi Basgagha said on Wednesday.
In an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Bashagha, who left the government in March but is still an influential figure, said he was only “still thinking” about a possible presidential election.
He said that ten years after the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi and with UN-sponsored peace talks under way, Libyans are “optimistic about the future” and ready to build “a strong state.”
And he stressed that as a former Home Secretary, he has “statecraft-related experience, primarily in the security field.”
“We must attach great importance to the stabilization of the country and our security,” he told AFP, criticizing Libya’s current transitional government for not exercising control over armed factions.
After years of conflict between the UN-recognized National Accord Government (GNA) and illegal forces loyal to Putist general Khalifa Haftar in Libya, and the ensuing difficult diplomatic period, a temporary unity government has been set up in recent months.
The election through a UN-led process, Libya’s new unity government, the Government of National Unity (GNU), swore on March 15. It stems from two rival political groups that ruled the country’s eastern and western regions and completed a smooth transition of power after a decade of violent chaos.
Western countries this month called on Libya’s interim government to begin preparations for the war – torn country’s planned elections in December. Libya’s transitional government under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and a presidential council led by Mohammad Younes Menfi are committed to a UN – sponsored peace process and have promised to hold votes.
Germany will host a new set of talks in Berlin in three weeks, focusing on preparations for a national vote on 24 December and the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country after a decade of violence.
There has been a formal ceasefire in the country since October, but UN envoy to Libya Jan Kubis has warned that progress in withdrawing foreign forces and uniting fragmented institutions has stalled.
Bashagha, a 58-year-old former air force officer who joined the uprising against Gaddafi’s regime as a member of the Misrata military council, blamed the delay on the government.
“Now it is clear that the current government prefers not to have elections. But this is a commitment that must be implemented,” he told AFP.
“So as far as the election is concerned, the parliamentary and presidential elections will take place at the same time and for the first time the president will be elected by direct vote.”
Bashagha is on tour in the European capitals and was in Brussels to meet members of the European Parliament and NGO leaders to talk about the future of his country, while discreetly pushing for his own tasks.
Brussels is most concerned about the need to receive more migrants and refugees leaving Libya’s shores, often on congested and unsafe smuggling vessels, en route to EU countries.
The former Libyan minister stressed that he had taken this issue seriously when he was in office, but warned that it was best handled by a unified Libyan government.
“We have been cooperating with the EU in this area, despite the difficult conditions,” he said, noting that detention centers for immigrants had been bombed during a rebel attack on Tripoli last year.
The peace talks in Berlin later this month will deal with urgent foreign forces, such as Russian mercenaries who support Haftar and leave the country.
Support for Turkish presence
But Bashagha defended the presence of the Turkish forces, which he said had helped the UN-backed authorities in Tripoli defend the capital from forces loyal to Haftar, who himself could become a rival presidential candidate.
He noted that it was the former Libyan government under the then Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj who had requested Turkish support “to assist in the defense of Tripoli.”
“And because of Turkish aid, it was possible to defend the city and the attack failed,” he said.
While Turkey and Qatar have been the main supporters of the internationally recognized GNA, Haftar has received support from Egypt, Russia, France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In April 2019, Haftar and his forces launched an offensive to try to capture Tripoli. His 14-month campaign collapsed after Turkey strengthened its military support for the UN-backed government.
A ceasefire agreement in October that included a requirement that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days led to an agreement on the transitional government and the elections in December.
The UN estimated in December that there were at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including Syrians, Russians, Sudanese and Chadians.
“And now, in Libya, we can see that Libya is moving towards peace, and that puts an end to the war. This requires the absolute condition for organizing elections. This will bring security and peace,” Bashagha said.
He warned the current government not to “put obstacles” in the way of elections, which he insisted would be supported by Libyans from across the country after a decade of chaos.
“After the fall of Gaddafi, we know that weapons began to spread, and they fell into the hands of criminal groups and factions,” he told AFP.
“And there are obstacles, there are risks. But I believe that this will of our people – of all our people – will help solve the problems and build the state, a strong state.”
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