Haftar May Still Has Role To Play Via Political Deal - Member Of Libya's State Council

ANTAKYA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2020) A member of Libya's High Council of State, Adel Karmous, told Sputnik on Thursday that Libyan National Army Head Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar may "return to the [political] scene" by way of a political accord, despite the failure of his military campaigns.

"As for Haftar, despite the failure of his military project and having lost the war, this does not mean however that he has lost everything. He can possibly return to the scene by means of a political agreement through those who support him, who started the war over the capital and whose Names are on the top of the list for presidential council's posts," Karmous said.

Speaking about disputes over nominations to the country's presidential council, which comprise the president and two of his deputies, the Libyan official noted that a number of parties have stayed away from pursuing national interests.

"Disagreements are based on the remoteness of some parties from the national interests by giving priority to personal and tribal ones. As a result, we have found a consensus on the distribution of posts in the council and the government reached on the basis of quotas between the three regions of Tripoli, Cyrenaica and Fezzan," Karmous said.

The official, however, highlighted that even if those negotiating the council's creation would reach consensus on its candidates, this body "would be unable to ensure safety and stability."

The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which was held under the patronage of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in Tunisia, ended last week without announcing the makeup of the new Presidential Council and government. The participants of the forum, the 75 delegates representing various strata of Libyan society, were unable to agree on the mechanisms for choosing a new executive branch in the country.

Along with these developments, UN Acting Special Envoy and UNSMIL Head Stephanie Williams said on November 16 that the forum participants had agreed to resume talks in one week, in online format.

According to Williams, the forum participants had agreed that the date for national elections on a constitutional basis should be December 24, 2021 � 70 years after Libya's Declaration of Independence.

Sources close to the Libyan talks told Sputnik last week that majority of the forum participants had asked Williams to postpone the vote on persons applying for top positions in the state until December 15.