Morocco to host new round of Libyan election talks

Morocco will host a meeting of the Libyan steering committee to prepare for elections on which hopes are pinned to break the deadlock that left the oil-rich and war-torn country politically divided.

The news was reported by Italy’s Nova news agency citing Libyan House of Representative spokesman Abdullah Belhaq.

He said views are converging between the rivals after they agreed on mechanisms to make progress towards elections.

A political process to resolve more than a decade of conflict in Libya has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of major candidates.

The U.N.-backed government in the capital of Tripoli has very loose control over about a third of the country. To the east, Libya is controlled by a renegade general leading what they have called the Libyan National Army, which has tried and failed to topple the government in Tripoli.

Morocco has by the past hosted meetings between Libyan rivals including the Skhirate agreement which still serves as a reference for a political and peaceful settlement of the crisis in Libya.

Libya has descended into chaos since 2011 as the country is de-factor divided between a Tripoli-based government in the west and vast swathes of the east under the control of renegade general Khalifa Haftar.