Fayez al-Sarraj rescinds decision to resign late October, waits for formation of new authority

01 Novembre 2020

Tripoli, Libya, November 1 (Infosplusgabon) - The chairman of the presidential council of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, said here Friday he had rescinded his decision to resign in late October this year, an official source said.

Chairman al-Sarraj’s decision is in response to appeals to him to wait for the formation of the new authority during the Forum for the inter-Libyan political talks.

On 16 September, al-Sarraj announced his “sincere desire to hand over duties to the new executive authority in late October on the latest”, urging the Commission of the inter-Libyan political dialogue to work to complete the works as fast as possible.

The revised decision of al-Sarraj was contained in a publication Friday by his official spokesperson, Ghaleb Alzaglay, on his Twitter page.

According to the tweets, al-Sarraj "thanked the Tripoli Chamber of Representatives (Parliament), the High Council of State, the UN Support Mission in Libya and the leaders of fellow countries for inviting him to carry on his duties until the end of the cycles of dialogue and the formation of a new presidential council".

“He announced his response to those appeals; his appreciation of their motives, and hopes that the dialogue committee will assume its historic responsibility, far from personal, regional and local interests, and that all its members will place the interest of the nation before any other consideration so that our country can overcome the ongoing crisis in all security and in consensus," added the same source.

Earlier Friday, the German minister of foreign affairs, Heiko Maas, during a phone talk with al-Sarraj, called on him to continue exercising his duties all along the inter-Libyan dialogue to kick off on 9 November in Tunis under the aegis of the United-Nations.

Previously, the Libyan High Council of State and the Parliament seating in Tripoli had called on al-Sarraj to continue exercising his duties until the appointment of a new presidential council to avoid any political vacuum, and in the interest of the country’s stability.

The acting special representative of the UN Secretary-General and chief of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Stephanie Williams, expressed the wish that al-Sarraj would remain in his position until the establishment of a new executive authority.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/VVC/GABON2020

© Copyright  Infosplusgabon