UN announces candidates for temporary Libyan government

The UN Libya Support Mission (UNSMIL) announced Saturday candidates for leadership of the interim unity government that will govern until elections are held Dec. 24.

There are 24 candidates for the Presidency Council, which forms the executive authority, and 21 for the Prime Minister's Office, according to UNSMIL.

The interim executive authority consists of the Presidency Council -- the president and his two vice-presidents -- and the prime minister's offices.

The names to be chosen for the new interim government, which will include four leaders, including members of the Presidency Council and the prime minister, will be determined by a vote by the 75 members of the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva scheduled for Feb. 1-5.

-Libya and Political Dialogue Forum

UN interim envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, announced Jan. 3 the formation of an 18-member Consultative Council of the Libyan Dialogue Forum to draft a formal mechanism to select Libya's temporary executive.

The UN recognizes the government headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, also supported by Turkey, as the country's legitimate authority as Tripoli has battled warlord Khalifa Haftar's militias since April 2019 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives.

Diplomatic efforts have been underway in recent months to solve the Libyan conflict following victories by the Libyan Army against Haftar's militias.

Despite progress on the political and military levels between rival Libyan parties, the government documented several violations by Haftar's militias to a cease-fire reached Oct. 23 under UN mediation.