The United Nations-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) met in Switzerland on June 28 to discuss the constitutional basis for the 24 December elections. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Jan Kubis, stated that the forum members came together to hold national elections in Libya and end the transition period.
Reminding that, according to the roadmap determined in the session held in Tunisia in November 2020, the constitutional basis of the elections should be decided by July 1, Kubis stated that there are only 179 days left for the elections. Expressing that LPDF members should put aside their differences and make concessions in order to create the election law. Kubis emphasized that leaving Switzerland without making a decision is not among the options.
Abdullah Othman, one of the forum members who made statements about the candidacy criteria, underlined that the presidential candidates should be Muslim and Libyan. Othman also stated that candidates should not be foreign nationals or have been convicted of other crimes.
The LPDF, created by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), has 75 people representing different political and social segments of Libya. During the 3-day meetings, forum members will seek solutions to the constitutional referendum, candidate criteria, and different issues.
