UN chief calls on all Libya parties to partake in upcoming elections

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on all Libyan parties to take part in presidential and legislative elections, which are aimed at restoring peace and stability to the North African country.

"I call on all Libyan parties to participate in the election process, and to respect the election results," Guterres said in a video address to a conference on Libya, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, on Friday.

"Elections are an essential next step on the road to peace and stability," the UN chief said, warning that, "Any party that deliberately undermines or sabotages peace must be held accountable."

The conference was attended by heads of state and government and foreign ministers, among others. US Vice President Kamala Harris, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were in attendance.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi were also present at the meeting as co-hosts.

Libya's presidential and parliamentary elections were planned to be held on December 24, but the country's parliament split the polls in early October and postponed legislative elections until January.

The Paris conference was aimed at ensuring that the elections would be held as planned.

Paris conference calls for 'free,' 'credible' elections

In a statement after the meeting, the world powers attending the conference called on Libya to hold "free" and "credible" elections.

"We stress the importance for all Libyan stakeholders to mobilize resolutely in favor of the organization of free, fair, inclusive and credible presidential and legislative elections on December 24, 2021," the statement said.

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The Government of National Unity (GNU) will run the country until presidential and parliamentary elections are held on December 24.

Amid unclarity around whether presidential and legislative elections can both be held on December 24, or whether the parliamentary polls would be held later, a later part of the statement referred to an "electoral calendar starting on December 24."

The statement also threatened sanctions against the "spoilers" of the country's electoral process.

"Persons or entities inside or outside Libya who attempt to obstruct, challenge, manipulate or tamper with the electoral process and political transition will be held accountable and may be subject to UN sanctions," it said.

The elections are seen as crucial to ending a decade of conflict in Libya.

Until March, the North African country had been split between rival governments in the east and west. But the two sides finally reached a ceasefire that backed the formation of a transitional government, known as the government of national unity (GNU). The GNU is expected to run the country until the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Libya has been beset by violence and chaos since the overthrow and killing of its long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO operation in 2011.

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