Libya’s rival factions agree to hold national elections within 24 months at UN talks
Libya’s rival political parties have signed a UN-led agreement on holding long-delayed national elections within 24 months, aiming to settle disputes over electoral laws and reform the national elections body.
Libya’s opposing political camps have endorsed a new roadmap to national elections, signing an agreement at United Nations–led talks that sets a 24‑month deadline for long-delayed polls.
The deal, reached on Sunday, commits the parties to address contentious issues around electoral laws and to reform the national elections commission that will run the vote. It is intended to unblock disputes that have repeatedly stalled previous attempts to hold nationwide elections.
Libya has faced years of postponements to national polls as rival authorities and armed groups contested who could stand for office, how the vote should be sequenced, and how state institutions should be structured. The new agreement seeks to create a shared framework for passing the necessary laws and updating the electoral body.
For Libyans, the roadmap offers a potential path toward a more unified political system after a long period of fragmented authority. But the 24‑month window also means the current rival structures remain in place for at least two more years, during which the process could still be delayed or disrupted.
Internationally, the deal gives the UN a tangible outcome from its mediation efforts and provides foreign states involved in Libya with a common reference point for future engagement.
What will determine whether the roadmap holds are the next steps: whether Libya’s rival institutions quickly pass compatible electoral laws, whether the elections commission is reformed in time, and whether key actors on the ground accept the process. Any signs of slippage on deadlines or renewed arguments over who can run for office will be early warnings that the agreement is under strain.
Sources
- OSINT