Libya

TRIPOLI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Raisedon Zenenga on Sunday reiterated his support for the upcoming elections in Libya.

Zenenga made his remarks during a virtual consultation with a diverse group of civil society representatives from all parts of Libya.

"Participants shared their views on elections, with a common message that the goal for the elections should be to deliver stability and to enable the country to go out of recurrent political crises," the UNSMIL said in a post on Twitter.

TRIPOLI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Presidency Council of Libya on Saturday suspended Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush and temporarily banned her from travelling over mismanagement allegation, but the decision was rejected by the government.

Najla Mangoush "shall be temporarily suspended for investigation into reported mismanagement, mainly monopoly of foreign policy without prior coordination with the Presidency Council," the council said in a statement.

She was also banned temporarily from travelling pending the results of the investigation.

07 Nov 2021; MEMO: The Libyan government on Sunday rejected the Presidential Council's decision to suspend Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush.

The Council of Ministers said that decision is not within the authority of the Presidential Council.

06 Nov 2021; MEMO: Libya will not participate in the Paris conference on Libya if the occupation state of Israel attends, Spokesperson for the National Unity Government (GNU) Mohamed Hammouda revealed earlier this week.

"The government is steadfast in its position and the position of all Libyans and is committed to the Palestinian cause," The Libyan Observer reported Hammouda stating on Tuesday.

TRIPOLI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A group of 91 illegal immigrants, mostly children, on Wednesday were voluntarily repatriated from Libya to their home country Niger.

"Based on instructions from the Interior Minister regarding resumption of voluntary repatriation flights for illegal immigrants, a flight deported from Misurata International Airport to Niger's Niamey airport through the International Organization for Migration (IOM)," Hussain Attorki, head of migrants deportation department in Misurata International Airport, told Xinhua.

TRIPOLI, Oct 30 (NNN-XINHUA) – The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) yesterday said, it deported 140 illegal Bangladeshi migrants to their country of origin.

The migrants, including nine with medical conditions, were assisted to return to Bangladesh from Benghazi on Thursday, in the first Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight from the city, since the resumption of IOM’s VHR programme, the IOM said.

TRIPOLI, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Libya's High National Elections Commission (HNEC) on Sunday announced a plan for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

According to the plan, the polling day for the first round of the presidential elections is determined in the Commissioner's proposal that is approved by the House of Representatives (parliament), Imad Al-Sayah, the head of HNEC, told a press conference in the capital Tripoli.

The second round of the presidential elections will be held simultaneously with the parliamentary elections, Al-Sayah said.

TRIPOLI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Registration for candidates in Libya's presidential and parliamentary elections should open in November, the head of the electoral commission said on Sunday.

Elections are a key step in a U.N.-backed process to end a decade of violence by creating a new political leadership whose legitimacy is widely accepted.

But wrangling over the constitutional basis for elections, the rules governing them and questions over their credibility have threatened to unravel the peace process in recent months.

TRIPOLI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Interior Ministry of Libya on Saturday held the first forum on securing the elections slated for December.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said at the forum that the gathering of the security departments was "an important step towards uniting the state's institutions."

Interior Minister Khaled Mazen said that the forum aimed to integrate efforts and security plans for the elections, adding that all the needs of the security departments would be provided.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya’s chief diplomat says the transitional government is working to hold long-awaited elections later this year, but security and political and economic stability are necessary for a peaceful transition to a new government.

Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush’s comments came in an interview with The Associated Press late Friday in the capital of Tripoli. She spoke a day after the Libyan government hosted a high-level conference aimed at resolving the country’s thorniest issues ahead of elections scheduled for late December.