Agreement Sets 24-Month Timeline for Libya Elections, but Will This Attempt Succeed?

Libya’s rival political camps have given themselves 24 months to organize presidential and legislative elections. The agreement, reached on August 30, offers a new opening for a country that has struggled to hold a national vote since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011.

The deal emerged from negotiations between rival sides in a joint committee under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. The compromise is an advance, but it arrives after years of failed timetables and deep political division.

Since 2022, Libya has been run by two parallel governments. The Government of National Unity, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, operates from Tripoli in the west and is recognized by the international community. The rival administration is based in Benghazi in the east, under the control of forces led by General Khalifa Haftar.

Each government is backed by a separate legislature. The Tripoli administration is supported by the High Council of State, while the eastern camp is supported by the House of Representatives in Tobruk. The country’s competing centers of power emerged after elections planned for 2021 failed to take place.

Disputes over the rules of the vote have repeatedly blocked the process, while disagreements over which candidates can run have further stalled it. A national road map had pointed to February 17, 2027, for general elections, but the plan did not win the backing of key United Nations decision-makers. The UN mission is pursuing its own timetable, while a third initiative led by the United States remains an alternative. The competing tracks have made the process harder to follow and added to uncertainty over whether the latest agreement can finally lead Libya to the polls.