Libya factions agree mechanism to appoint elections chief, as 'genuine will' to break deadlock remains elusive

Libya’s UN mission says a key committee of rival factions has agreed on a new mechanism to appoint the head of the country’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC), in what observers see as a modest but important step in efforts to break a years‑long political and electoral deadlock.

The announcement comes as frustration mounts among Libyans over repeated delays to long‑promised national elections and the continued existence of rival governments in the east and west of the country.

"The agreement on a new mechanism to appoint the head of Libya’s High National Elections Commission is a positive procedural step, but it is not the first of its kind," Samira Elsaidi, a freelance Libya journalist and analyst, told The New Arab. "Similar agreements have been reached before, yet the real challenge lies in achieving a final, implementable political agreement, setting a clear timetable, and finally holding the long‑delayed elections."

She added that the repeated postponement of Libya’s elections "has not been driven solely by legal or technical disputes, but also by the competing interests of the country’s key political and military actors".

While many Libyans still view elections as a way out of the enduring political stalemate and instability since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall, "there is also a growing sense of frustration and disappointment after years of unfulfilled promises and repeated political agreements that have failed to produce a vote", Elsaidi said.

UN roadmap under strain

In a statement on Wednesday, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said the "4+4" mini‑committee held a new round of talks at the mission’s headquarters in Tunis and "agreed on a mechanism for appointing the president of the High National Elections Commission", while continuing consultations on outstanding points in a draft final agreement.

The mission said committee members will reconvene in Tunis next week to try to finalise the remaining articles, but did not set a date for signing the long‑promised agreement, which has already been postponed more than once.

The 4+4 body, formed in May, brings together representatives of the Tripoli‑based Government of National Unity and the general command of the forces aligned with Khalifa Haftar in the east, alongside two members each from the House of Representatives and the High Council of State.

It was tasked with reconfiguring the elections commission’s leadership and amending electoral laws – the first pillar of a UN roadmap announced last August that is meant to lead to national polls and a unified government.

Since its first meeting in Rome, the committee has agreed the overall composition of HNEC’s board and reached understandings on draft laws for both parliamentary and presidential elections, according to UNSMIL. But attempts to sign a comprehensive deal have repeatedly failed, underscoring how the process remains tied to bargaining between rival camps.

Libya’s elections commission, created in 2012 after the civil war, is the body responsible for organising national and municipal elections and maintaining voter rolls.

Presidential and parliamentary polls, originally scheduled for 24 December 2021 under a UN‑backed roadmap, were indefinitely postponed after the HNEC dissolved electoral committees nationwide, citing legal disputes and security concerns. No new date has been agreed since, and the collapse of the 2021 timetable dealt a heavy blow to hopes that a single electoral process could reset Libya’s fragmented political order.

Elsaidi argues that while procedural advances help to build the institutional groundwork for elections, they will only lead to a genuine breakthrough if Libya’s main political and military actors are prepared to accept the risks that real, competitive polls pose to their current positions.

"I think the main challenge is not the format of the dialogue itself, but whether the key political and military actors in both eastern and western Libya are genuinely willing to make meaningful compromises," Elsaidi told The New Arab. "Without genuine political will from the actors who hold real influence, there is a risk that this process could end up managing the political stalemate rather than resolving it."