UN envoy says to present alternative mechanism for Libya

The Security Council holds a meeting on the situation in Libya at the UN headquarters in New York, Dec. 19, 2025. The top UN envoy for Libya said Friday that she intends to present an alternative mechanism as a political roadmap for Libya toward elections, which have been stalled. (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy for Libya said Friday that she intends to present an alternative mechanism as a political roadmap for Libya toward elections, which have been stalled.

"The political process should not be held hostage by the inaction of key political stakeholders who are willingly or not, maintaining the status quo," Hanna Tetteh, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), told the UN Security Council in a briefing.

Tetteh, in her last briefing on Aug. 21, unveiled a roadmap that would lead to general elections and unified state institutions in Libya.

The roadmap is built around three core pillars: the implementation of a technically sound and politically viable electoral framework aimed at holding presidential and legislative elections, unifying institutions through a new unified government, and a Structured Dialogue that enables broad participation of Libyans to address critical issues.

At the beginning of this week, UNSMIL launched the inaugural meeting of the Structured Dialogue. Progress on the other two pillars of the roadmap, however, has been lacking.

"Four months have elapsed since I first presented the roadmap to this (Security) Council on 21 August and UNSMIL has been engaging Libyan stakeholders with regard to its implementation, which I admit has been quite challenging," said Tetteh.

The two key tasks of the roadmap, namely the reconstitution of the board of the High National Elections Commission and amendments to the constitutional and legal framework for elections, have not been achieved, she said.

Given the impasse, Tetteh said she intends to present an alternative mechanism in her upcoming Security Council briefing in February 2026.

"The launch of the Structured Dialogue gives us the opportunity to also consult Libyan interlocutors on the most effective way of proceeding on the first two elements of the roadmap, and we will draw on their recommendations to advance the creation of the political conditions needed for the holding of elections," she said.

"In parallel, we will continue to engage with key political stakeholders to advance the political roadmap," said Tetteh.

She noted that, in a few days, Libyans will celebrate Independence Day on Dec. 24 -- the same date set for national elections in 2021, which failed to materialize. "Four years later, the country's path to elections remains fraught with complications that are challenging but we believe can be overcome," she said.

Tetteh called on all Libyan leaders to respond to the desires of the Libyan people and rise above their differences in the interests of the unity and integrity of the Libyan state and to advance the welfare of the Libyan people.

"The true spirit of independence lies in a nation's ability to shape its destiny through unity -- paving the way for a secure, sovereign state with a government that enjoys the support of the majority of its citizens, renewed legitimacy and unified institutions. That is what we are working towards," she said. ■

The UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Hanna Tetteh (on screens), speaks via a video link at a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 19, 2025. The top UN envoy for Libya said Friday that she intends to present an alternative mechanism as a political roadmap for Libya toward elections, which have been stalled. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)