A statement issued by the Deputy Heads of the Presidential Council (PC), Abdullah Al-Lafi and Mossa Al-Koni, the Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and the Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Mohammed Takala, announced unconditional support for the five-party initiative launched by the UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily.
"National solutions must stem from pure local will, far from any external dictations. Libyans should not submit to the power of weapons and tyranny, or get involved in suspicious deals," the statement said, pointing out that the solution lies in creating fair and impartial electoral laws that end the transitional stages and pave the way for the simultaneous end of tenures of all bodies.
The statement also called on all parties to “completely abandon any sensitivities with a regional or factional dimension".
On Saturday, a joint statement issued by the Head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aqila Saleh, and Khalifa Haftar welcomed participation in the dialogue called for by the UN mission.
Those attending the Cairo meeting agreed, according to a statement issued by them, on the importance of the efforts led by the United Nations mission and the importance of supporting a balanced Libyan-Libyan solution in a way that achieves the aspirations and hopes of the Libyan people to hold simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
The attendees welcomed participation in the dialogue called for by the United Nations mission in Libya without excluding any party, provided that the reservations and demands of the attendees are taken into account. They called on the United Nations mission to find common ground to ensure the success of the dialogue.
Meanwhile, Al-Lafi said on Saturday that the positions of the Presidential Council are expressed in official statements that represent the entire membership, adding in a response to the statement issued by the consultative meeting in Cairo that as a member of the Presidential Council, he would like to clarify that he had no knowledge of the meeting that was held in Egypt, or what was proposed after that, except through media.
"Accordingly, the positions of the Presidential Council are expressed in official statements that are issued collectively in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Agreement." Al-Lafi added.
Bathily extended on November 23 invitations to key Libyan institutional stakeholders to attend a meeting in the coming period to reach a settlement on the politically contested issues pertaining to the implementation of the electoral process.
