Political parties reject UN Libya peace proposal

Political parties in Libya’s capital rejected a draft proposal on Tuesday which was put forward by UN envoy Bernardino Leon. The proposal is intended to bring about an end to the country’s political crisis, reported Anadolu.

A spokesman for the Libyan General National Congress, Omar Humeidan, said during a press conference in Tripoli that the congress “completely rejects the draft proposal as it does not provide an objective, comprehensive, balanced solution.” Leon’s draft calls for a two-year transitional period, recognition of the Tobruk-based parliament as Libya’s only legislative authority, and an extension of the mandate for the country’s constitution-drafting assembly.

“The UN should stand at an equal distance from all parties and reconsider the mechanism of its operations to support the political course in Libya,” insisted Humeidan. He accused the UN envoy of “bias” and said that Leon will be responsible for the “consequences”, including those to the detriment of the UN mission’s credibility. The accusation of bias was repeated by the head of Al-Taghyeer Party, Guma Al-Ghemati.

The Justice and Building Party in Libya also criticised the UN proposal, describing the draft as shocking and disappointing. “The draft ignores all the initiatives and opinions put forward during the UN-sponsored dialogue,” the JBP added. It called on the UN envoy to withdraw “the flawed and unbalanced” document.