Bloomberg:

The United Nations mission in Libya expressed concern over reports that armed groups were mobilizing around the capital, Tripoli, as the OPEC member remains mired in political crisis.

The mission “calls on all parties to refrain from any action that could lead to armed clashes and urges them to cooperate with the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on Libya in her ongoing good offices’ efforts to find a negotiated way out of the current political stalemate,” it said on Twitter.

The Libya Observer:

The United States has called Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and his rival Fathi Bashagha for calm and de-escalation, as the latter alleges that he would enter Tripoli and take power from Dbeibah.

US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said on Twitter that his country continues to urge calm and de-escalation in contacts with all sides.

“That was my message to Dbeibah at the meeting he hosted with foreign diplomats, and my colleagues in Washington had a similar conversation with Bashagha,” he added.

Bashagha claimed in a televised speech to his supporters that he will be in Tripoli within days to assume power by the force of law, which could ignite armed confrontations with many armed brigades opposing him.

Reuters:

A long ceasefire has brought life back to Tripoli’s Algeria Square, its roundabout replanted with grass and customers lingering into the night at the Aurora Cafe, but Libya’s new crisis of two governments threatens to upend that peace.

Reuters:

A standoff between two rival governments in Libya worsened on Thursday with the risk of fighting or territorial division as the parliament in the east swore in a new administration while the incumbent in Tripoli refused to cede power.

Addressing the parliament after taking the oath of office, Fathi Bashagha said he was studying all options to take over in Tripoli. The present prime minister there, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, has said he will not hand over control.

Armed groups affiliated with both sides have mobilised in the capital and foreign forces, including from Turkey and Russia, remain entrenched in Libya nearly 18 months after a ceasefire ended the last major bout of warfare.

See also: Libya: Military Brigades Demand The Dissolution Of Parliament, Holding Elections

CGTN:

A number of armed factions in western Libya have announced their rejection of the new government that was approved by the House of Representatives, the country’s parliament.

“We hereby announce our complete rejection to the procedure adopted by the House of Representatives, by which a new government was approved, which is a violation of the political agreement and the rules of procedures of the House of Representatives,” the armed factions said in a joint statement late Tuesday.

“Our only option is to return legitimacy to the Libyan people and hold elections to select those who will represent that legitimacy,” added the statement, which was published via local media.

In the statement, the armed factions called on the Presidential Council to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold elections early.

The Libyan House of Representatives approved a new government on Tuesday, replacing the incumbent Government of National Unity led by Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah.

See also: The Libyan Imbroglio Gets More Complicated

Reuters:

Libya’s parliament approved a new government on Tuesday but the incumbent prime minister rejected the vote and vowed not to cede power, raising the risk of fighting among armed factions or territorial partition between rival administrations.

The parliament speaker’s declaration of Fathi Bashagha as prime minister after a televised vote aggravates a power struggle with the administration of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who was installed through a U.N.-backed process last year.

Opposing armed groups have mobilised in the capital Tripoli over recent weeks and foreign forces including from Turkey and Russia that have backed rival warring factions remain in the country.

Arab Gulf States Institute In Washington:

Since the postponing of Libya’s presidential election, political uncertainty and institutional divisions have intensified, making it more difficult to hold elections in the future and increasing concerns of a return to armed conflict.

Middle East Monitor:

Hundreds of Libyans have demonstrated in the capital of Tripoli on Friday calling for holding elections, ending the transitional phase in the country and overthrowing the House of Representatives and the High Council of State.

Anadolu Agency reported that hundreds of people have gathered in Martyrs’ Square in central Tripoli following an invitation by activists on social media platforms and civil society institutions to call for holding elections.

The demonstrators displayed banners with phrases that read “No to extension… Yes to elections”, “No to transitional stages”, “Down with Parliament, down with the High Council of State… leave us” and “Legitimacy is for people, not for those who robbed the people.”

See also
-Egypt Is Concerned About Libya
–UN Advisor: All Libyan Actors Should Refrain From Using Violence
–Libya On The Cusp Of Another Decade Of Chaos

Libya Herald:

On the eve of the 11^th anniversary of the 17 February 2011 revolution that ended the 42-year Qaddafi regime, Libya is still seeking what now seems an unattainable political stability.

Two elections and several recognized and unrecognized, interim and designate, unparalleled and paralleled prime ministers later – Libya is still searching for stability. It is still trying to agree a permanent constitution based on which it would hold elections. And it is still trying to organize elections seven years since the last elections of 2014.

Al Jazeera:

Libyan joint operations forces have rallied in the country’s capital to support Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s claim to legitimacy as the head of the Libyan government as the country’s political schism deepens.

On Saturday, joint armed forces from Misrata, Khoms and Zlitan converged on Tripoli’s Martyrs Square with about 300 armed vehicles.

On Thursday, the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) parliament in eastern Libya had named Fathi Bashagha the country’s new prime minister.

Incumbent PM Dbeibeh rejected the move, vowing to remain in his post until national elections are held.

See also: U.N. Adviser Tells Libya It Must Preserve Calm, Stability

The New York Times:

Libya hurtled deeper into political chaos on Thursday when its Parliament voted to install a new interim government over the objections of the current prime minister.

The oil-rich North African nation was already in political limbo after its failure to hold national elections on time in December. The elections were supposed to end more than a decade of instability, which has plagued Libya since an Arab Spring revolt in 2011 overthrew the longtime dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The Washington Post:

Libya’s parliament said Monday it will name a new prime minister this week to head the transitional government, a move that will likely lead to parallel administrations in the already chaotic nation.

It sure is a good thing that we started that unprovoked war of regime change to give them all this democracy.

The New Arab:

Seif al-Islam Gaddafi – son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi – has suggested a tentative initiative to jumpstart Libya’s stalled election process.

In the statement published on Tuesday, lawyer Khalid al-Zaidi said that Gaddafi proposed a delay of all processes relating to the presidential election, while going ahead with elections for Libya’s parliament, the House of Representatives. 

In the statement, al- Zaidi said that “by postponing the presidential race without delaying parliamentary elections…. we can avoid further war and division, cutting off all justifications for further delays and transitions.”

See also: Russia, US In Disagreement Over UN Libya Mission, Special Envoy

The National:

The long-standing dispute over the mandate of the current government in Libya risks creating a new parallel administration and a power vacuum, political experts say.

The delay to presidential and legislative polls has exposed a deep mistrust among the major political powers, who have locked horns over whether to deliver the vote first or form a new transitional government.

“We are going down a rabbit hole,” Libyan political analyst Fathi Omar Al Turbi told The National. “I can see the country descending into chaos and disorder after a few months of a ceasefire and fragile unity.”

Nearly a month after the missed deadline to hold the vote, there are more serious political challenges and rivalries in store.

See also: Libya’s Central Bank, Torn By Civil War, Says It Will Unify

Ahram Online:

After months of anticipation, Libyan voters were unable to go to the polls in parliamentary and presidential elections originally scheduled for 24 December.

Although some 2.8 million eligible voters had received their voting cards, the Libyan Higher National Elections Commission (HNEC) had to call off the polls at the last minute due to “force majeure.” It proposed 24 January as an alternative date, triggering an outcry among those calling for the revision of current laws and regulations governing the electoral process and those calling for a completely new roadmap.

Al Jazeera:

Libya’s parliament has refused to fix a date for presidential elections meant to have taken place last week, leaving question marks about the fate of the poll.

The vote, set for December 24, was meant to be the culmination of United Nations-led efforts to drag Libya out of a decade of conflict since a 2011 revolt. But it was derailed by bitter arguments about divisive candidates and a disputed legal framework.

On Monday, the parliamentary committee charged with overseeing the election presented a report saying it would be risky to set a new date at this stage.

That was a direct rebuff to the High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) which had suggested holding the vote on January 24.

Al Jazeera:

The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the United States have urged war-torn Libya to set a new date for delayed presidential election quickly.

“We call on the relevant Libyan authorities to respect the aspirations of the Libyan people for prompt elections by swiftly determining a final date for the polling and issuing the final list of presidential candidates without delay,” a joint statement from the five nations said on Friday.

The authorities overseeing Libya’s first presidential election said earlier this week holding it on Friday as scheduled would be “impossible”.

The vote was intended to mark a fresh start for the oil-rich North African country, a year after a landmark ceasefire and more than 10 years after its 2011 revolt that overthrew and killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.

But speculation of a delay had been mounting for weeks. There were bitter disputes over the vote’s legal basis, the powers of the winner and the candidacies of several deeply divisive figures.

See also: Groups Call For Protests Against Libya’s Poll Cancellation

The New York Times:

Libya’s Parliament declared that it would be impossible to hold a long-awaited presidential election on Friday as scheduled, a delay that risked further destabilizing the oil-rich North African nation, which has been troubled by division and violence in the decade since the dictator Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was toppled and killed in a revolution.

The announcement on Wednesday by the president of the parliamentary election committee, Hadi Al-Sagheer, confirmed what virtually everyone in Libya already knew. Nonetheless, it threatened to take political tensions to a boil from a simmer.

The Guardian:

The United Nations is scrambling to manage the postponement of Libyan presidential elections set for 24 December as fears grow that a looming political vacuum will lead to renewed violence and economic chaos.

There has been no formal announcement on a postponement, but all sides acknowledge the vote cannot proceed, not least because a list of authorised candidates has yet to be published.

Libya has seen a year of relative calm since a landmark October 2020 ceasefire following almost a decade of conflict and the UN has been pushing for elections as part of a multi-pronged effort to cement the peace.

Tensions are building over whether the interim government of national unity can remain in office after its formal term expires on the 24th. Roadblocks and armed vehicles have also begun to appear in parts of the capital, Tripoli, and four major oilfields have been shut due to their occupation by militia.

The UN mission to Libya warned that developments in Tripoli did not bode well for maintaining stability and establishing the conditions for free and fair elections.

See also: Libya: Tensions As Armed Groups Mobilize In Tripoli

Vestnik Kavkaza:

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, late leader Moammar Gadhafi’s second son and once heir, will run in Libya’s Dec. 24 presidential elections. The High National Election Commission (HNEC) objected to his application, but a court in the southern city of Sabha reinstated him on Dec. 2, rejecting HNEC’s appeal.

Gadhafi was among 25 others who were disqualified, most of whom have now been readmitted into the crowded race. HNEC’s Resolution 79 cited missing documents and noncompliance with the presidential election law.  

Gadhafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity during the uprising of 2011 that toppled his late father. At the time, he had no official role in either the government or the army and security forces. In 2015, he was tried and sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli heavily criticized by international rights groups. Two years later, he was released after Libya’s parliament passed a general amnesty law from which he and many others benefited.

Gadhafi was out of the public view between 2017-2021, prompting speculation about his whereabouts and whether he was even alive. During that time, he was active behind the scenes, meeting supporters and mediating tribal conflicts, particularly in southern Libya.