UN Libya adviser urges all parties to preserve calm

By Trend

The Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Libya Stephanie Williams on Sunday urged the Libyan parties to preserve calm on the ground, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

Williams made her remarks during a meeting with Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in the capital Tripoli, where they discussed the recent developments and the recent votes taken by the House of Representatives (parliament) to adopt a constitutional amendment and designate a new prime minister.

"We reviewed the process underway and I reiterated the importance for all actors and institutions to work within the political framework and, above all, to preserve calm on the ground in the interest of Libya's unity and stability," Williams tweeted.

In another meeting with Fathi Bashagha, the prime minister-designate, Williams stressed that the focus must continue to be on the holding of free, fair and inclusive national elections in the shortest possible time.

The House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously voted for former Interior Minister Bashagha as the country's new prime minister.

Shortly after the vote, Bashagha said he is "confident that Dbeibah's government will hand over power and adhere to the democratic path."

However, Dbeibah confirmed that his government will remain in office until elections are held and will only hand over to an elected government.

Dbeibah's Government of National Unity was appointed by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in February last year, ending years of political division in the North African country.

The Libyan parliament withdrew confidence from Dbeibah's government in September last year and kept it as a caretaker government.

General elections in Libya had been scheduled for Dec. 24 last year, but were postponed indefinitely over technical and legal issues, according to the High National Elections Commission.