Holding Libyan elections this year could be disastrous
There's a lot of pressure to hold elections in Libya this year, but many observers fear the country is still too unstable to pull it off without making the situation even worse.
The global community and several Libyan politicians are pushing for Libyan elections by the end of this year, despite the danger of plunging the country torn by civil war deeper into turmoil. Ghassan Salame, the UN envoy to Libya, supports the proposed elections but warned that myriad conditions still need to be met before sending Libyans to the ballot box.
The primary requirement, he told reporters last month in the capital of Tripoli, is adopting a new constitution that all Libyans can stand behind. Without one, parliamentary elections risk prolonging the political deadlock that has crippled the country.
Yet Tarek Megerisi, a Libyan analyst and a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al-Monitor several countries are lobbying local politicians to have elections whether Libya has a constitution or not.
“Some countries see elections as a way to propel the party they are supporting into power. Other nations have economic ambitions in Libya, and they need a legal body to sign big contracts. But none of these countries really care for the stability of [Libya],” Megerisi recently said by phone.
