Egypt has welcomed Libyan parties’ agreement on the majority of articles of a draft constitution reached in Cairo.
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez, it is the outcome of the third round of negotiations between Libyan parties to reach a constitutional consensus,
The talks, hosted by Egypt in coordination with the United Nations, kicked off on June 12 and concluded Monday.
Hafez expressed aspiration that the Libyan Constitutional Committee will continue its efforts and finalize the limited outstanding articles as soon as possible.
In March, Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives or the parliament, and the Tripoli-based High Council of State formed a joint committee to reach a firm constitutional basis for sooner national elections.
The two sides reached consensus on 137 articles of the constitution in the previous round of talks in Cairo.
Observers believe the negotiations are the last chance to agree on a constitutional basis for possible future elections. However, if the negotiations fail, it could threaten the ceasefire agreement signed in October 2020 and bring unprecedented relative stability to Libya.
Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 due to disagreements on the election laws among the Libyan parties.
Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political instability ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.