Western Nations Welcome Libya’s Election Agreement, Urge Final Signing.

TUNISIA – Ten Western nations, France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, welcomed a breakthrough agreement on Libya’s electoral framework in a joint statement on 25 August.

The deal, reached within the UN-facilitated “Smaller Convening,” covers reconstituting the board of the High National Elections Commission and revising the electoral framework. It was initialed in Tunis on 20 August by the “4+4” committee, an eight-member body split between eastern and western Libya, formed by the UN in May.

The governments commended the Libyan participants for bridging differences, urged all stakeholders to support and implement the agreement, and called it a credible step toward inclusive national elections and unified institutions.

They reaffirmed support for UNSMIL and Special Representative Hanna Tetteh in facilitating a Libyan-led process, and for Libya’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

Libya has not held a national vote since 2014. The agreement still faces hurdles: no election date has been set, and the outcome must be endorsed by Libyan institutions, some of which have voiced reservations.