Libya: Politics and Government

(asked on 12th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the ability Libya to hold a free and fair referendum on that country's draft constitution.


Answered by
Alistair Burt Portrait
Alistair Burt
This question was answered on 22nd October 2018

​The UN Action Plan launched in September 2017 makes clear that elections and a referendum on the country's constitution will be important milestones in Libya's political transition. UN Special Representative to the Secretary General Ghassan Salamé has also been clear about the need for elections to be preceded by the necessary political, technical and security preparations, and for progress towards a new constitutional framework that commands sufficiently broad support among Libyans. The Libyans present in Paris in May this year set out an ambitious timetable in relation to these objectives, but further progress is needed. Italy will host an international conference on Libya in Sicily next month to discuss outstanding issues.

The UK is supporting the work of Libya's national and local election commissions – including by providing £1.2 million to UN Development Programme over two years to support fair and safe local and national elections in Libya.

Local and Municipal Councils and wider civil society will play an important role in any sustainable solution to Libya's problems. We support the UN-led National Dialogue process, which has brought together and consulted with a range of Libyans from across the country; and we are encouraged by recent exchanges between municipal representatives from east and west Libya.

Reticulating Splines