By Haroun Dikwa
The North African country of Libya today remains deeply divided between rival administrations – the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) in the West, and the Eastern-based Government of National Stability, forcing mounting economic pressure from a reportedly 14.7% currency devaluation and persistent insecurity driven by armed militias.
With stalled elections perpetuating political deadlock, recent calls for the formation of a unity government in Libya have sparked widespread political and media debate. Some see this as a way out of the current crisis, while others doubt its feasibility given the deep political and institutional divisions plaguing the country.
This call on the Tripoli-based government came from Osama Hammad, head of the government in the East and appointed by the Libyan House of Representatives, which is not internationally recognized. He stressed the necessity of launching a comprehensive and serious national dialogue as soon as possible, leading to the formation of a unified and stable government that would ensure the delivery of services to every city and village in Libya without discrimination or exclusion.
He indicated that supporting this initiative stems from a sense of national duty and the historical responsibility the parliament bears towards the people and the nation. And that this call for dialogue ‘’is not merely a fleeting political declaration, but rather a cry for justice against division, and a sincere and responsible call to restore the state’s prestige and unify the government and sovereign institutions.’’
Warning that the continued fragmentation Libyans are experiencing is no longer something that can be ignored or postponed, Hammad asserts that this situation is now gnawing at the nation’s core and directly threatening its unity and existence.
This fragmentation has equally emboldened Turkey to aim at establishing itself as a dominant power in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. Turkey provides significant military support to the Tripoli-based government, including mercenaries, drone technology, and defense Advisors to secure maritime boundaries under Turkey’s ‘’Blue Homeland’’ doctrine. The 2019 maritime agreement with Tripoli’s Government of National Accord allowed Turkey to claim a vast exclusive economic zone, challenging agreements between Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt.
In support of this approach, candidates for the premiership of the new unified government issued a statement declaring their support for national unity and the completion of the political process, leading to an end to the division and the restoration of the state stability.
They emphasized their commitment to the electoral laws issued by the joint 6+6 committee comprised of six members from the West and East respectively, tasked with drafting electoral laws to enable presidential and parliamentary elections.
The statement described the Tripoli-based government, headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, as having an expired mandate, accusing it of squandering public funds, entrenching financial and administrative corruption, which have contributed to deepening the division within state institutions.
Hammad called on the Tripoli-based government to address the current financial crisis, or step aside to allow other figures to stabilise the country. Libya, with its deep institutional and political crisis, is of interest to major international actors, most notably Washington and the United Nations, which have also called for institutional unity in the country.
In this regard, the U.S. Presidential Advisor on African and Middle Eastern Affairs, Massard Boulos, in a tweet posted on March 4 this year, commenting on the statement issued by the President of the United Nations Security Council on Libya, affirmed that stability in Libya requires the unification of institutions and the restoration of economic vitality through a political process, emphasizing Washington support for these efforts. Boulos says that ‘’The idea of democracy and institutional reform to be achieved under the current circumstances in Libya is a grand illusion, because as the charade continues, the set remains the same, and the roles are pre-scripted.’’ He emphasized that Libya’s crisis is deeper than a mere power struggle, ‘’It is an ideological and societal crisis, where each side clings to its own vision and views any concession as a defeat, and every attempt to recognize the other is rejected’’.
He pointed out that this situation makes any project to unify the country or build a civil state virtually impossible, warning that ‘’disagreement is not simply a problem that can be resolved through law, but a constant reality that must be managed wisely’’. Stating that the failure to recognize this, Boulos said, ‘’transforms every democratic process into a new conflict, turning the constitution and the ballot box into tools for exacerbating division rather than addressing the crisis.’’
He affirmed that ‘’the solution to the Libyan situation lies in changing the political and cultural mindset of society, in rebuilding a collective consciousness that rejects polarization, accepts pluralism as a value and not a threat, makes dialogue the rule and not the exception, and transforms coexistence with others from a concession into a condition for the state’s survival’’.
The American Advisor affirms that the continuation of the current situation will keep the country trapped in divisions and chaos, while external powers play a decisive role in determining its course. While noting the importance of unifying all institutions including the military and security institutions, he emphasized importance of preserving the unity and independence of the judicial system.
He urges the parties ‘’to demonstrate the political will and consensus to advance a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process, and to refrain from any unilateral actions that could entrench institutional divisions, undermine the prospects for national reconciliation, and Libya’s financial and economic situation.’’
In his analysis of these calls to form a unified government, Libyan political analyst, Ibrahim Asayfar, told Al-Estiklal, on-line newspaper, that the problem in Libya is not the lack of consensus, because there is complete agreement among the elites to keep the state weak and obstruct any genuine reform process. He concluded that without a radical reform of the political mindset and culture, Libya will remain governed by recurring cycles of failure and division, with the citizen being the perpetual victim.
Dikwa writes from Maiduguri
