The UN special envoy for Libya has announced that an agreement has been reached between the parties involved and the political currents in Libya on setting a date for parliamentary and presidential elections in the country.

Participants at the talks in Tunisia “agreed that national elections should take place on December 24, 2021,” acting UN envoy Stephanie Williams told journalists in a virtual press conference on Friday. 

Libyan political talks began last Monday in the Tunisian capital.

The talks began after the two sides agreed on a ceasefire last month.“Reaching elections requires a new executive to unify the country. This requires the establishment of a reformed presidency council and an effective and unified government of national unity,” Williams said.

The parties to the conflict in Libya, the Tripoli-based national unity government, and the so-called Libyan National Army group under the command of Khalifa Haftar, signed a UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, October 23rd.

Libya has been embroiled in violence and political instability since the 2011 revolution, which led to the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya is currently divided between two centers of power. One of them is the Tripoli-based government headed by Faiz al-Siraj, which is recognized by the United Nations. And another government based in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk, backed by the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and several European countries.

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