The UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, called Wednesday on mayors in Libya to join a process leading to free, transparent and fair elections this year, adding in a speech at the conclusion of the meeting of the Supreme Council of Local Administration in Tripoli in the presence of Libyan Prime Minister and other mayors and officials, that it is now time to give legitimacy to all institutions in this country through a free, transparent and independent process, calling on all institutions to commit to this task for the sake of all Libyans.
The UN envoy said elections would not solve all the problems, but they must be the beginning of a new era and a new dawn for the sake of the history of Libya, calling on mayors to assume their responsibilities and saying: "You have to ask yourselves what you did to make Libya great once again. Will history remember you as people who prolonged the crisis, or contributed to alleviating the suffering of the country and citizens?"
Bathily reiterated that the real challenge facing Libyans today is the nonexistence of transparent mechanisms for the distribution of the country's wealth, saying that Libya is witnessing a turning point in its history, and that the years of conflict and crises must end.
