UN’s Libya envoy resigns weeks before elections

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Libya Jan Kubis speaks to the members of press after attending an initiation ceremony of international audit of Libya’s central bank accounts in Tripoli, Libya on 8 July 2021. [Hazem Turkia – Anadolu Agency]

United Nations special envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, has quit his post, a UN spokesman said yesterday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accepted Kubis’s resignation “with regret,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

“The secretary-general is working on an appropriate replacement. We are fully aware of the electoral calendar and are working as quickly as possible to ensure continuity of leadership,” Dujarric added.

“I would also add that we have a strong presence on the ground in Libya and all of our colleagues will continue, as they have done, working with Libyan institutions in light of the upcoming elections, not to mention the humanitarian challenges that the Libyan people face.”

The resignation comes one month before Libya’s controversial presidential elections slated for 24 December.

Kubis assumed the post in February, succeeding his Bulgarian predecessor, Nickolay Mladenov, who said he was unable to take up the role in December for “family reasons”.

READ: The surreal scene in Libya

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