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Libya’s 4+4 committee signs UN-backed deal for elections within 24 months
Libya’s 4+4 Dialogue Committee signed an agreement under United Nations auspices providing for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held within 24 months at the latest. The agreement calls for restructuring electoral institutions and establishing unified national institutions to overcome Libya’s political division.
An agreement providing for presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya to be held within 24 months at the latest was signed by the 4+4 Dialogue Committee under United Nations auspices. The agreement aims to hold the elections under a single executive authority and unified national institutions.
The signing took place at the headquarters of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in Tripoli after seven rounds of negotiations held over approximately four months. The negotiations began in Rome and concluded in Tunis.
Electoral arrangements
The agreement includes restructuring the council of the High National Elections Commission. It proposes appointing Dhu Ibrahim Atiyye as council chair and Sena al-Lishani as deputy chair.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are expected to be held within 24 months at the latest under a single executive authority and unified national institutions. If the timetable cannot be implemented, the parties will determine an appropriate mechanism for holding the elections in coordination with the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.
The agreement allows dual citizens to run in presidential elections. It proposes arrangements to ensure that the winning candidate renounces citizenship held outside Libya before the swearing-in ceremony. It also proposes a legal arrangement that would allow the electoral process to be renewed if this condition is not fulfilled.
The agreement opens the way for members of the military to participate in presidential elections both as candidates and voters. Presidential candidates will be required to obtain 20,000 signatures from registered voters in different regions of Libya.
The committee agreed that constitutional issues, including the adoption of a permanent constitution, should be addressed by the newly elected House of Representatives. Sessions of the new House of Representatives and the executive authority are planned to be held regularly according to an agreed schedule among Tripoli, Benghazi in the east and Sabha in the south.
Support from Libyan parties and the UN
Hana Tetteh, the United Nations Special Representative for Libya, described the agreement as significant progress and said that the priority was to implement its provisions within the agreed timetable. Tetteh said a clear and non-extendable timetable for the elections was necessary.
Tetteh said the elections represented only one part of the political process, adding that work was also needed to activate institutions and advance governance, essential services and economic reforms. She said the 4+4 meeting had brought together the main executive and legislative actors able to advance the political process.
Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, head of Libya’s Government of National Unity, said the agreement was an important step toward ending transitional periods and strengthening the path to elections. Dbeibeh said the Libyan people should make decisions through elections that would give real legitimacy to the country’s institutions.
Khalifa Haftar, commander-in-chief of forces in eastern Libya, described the agreement as progress toward overcoming issues that had remained unresolved for years and blocked presidential and parliamentary elections. Haftar said he supported efforts to unify institutions and end the division.
Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the eastern forces, said he viewed the signing of the agreement in Tripoli as an important step toward removing obstacles to the elections. He said the next phase should focus on implementation and the electoral process.
Stages of the roadmap toward elections
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said the agreement aims to advance the political process and create the conditions necessary for national elections. The agreement covers the first two stages of the political roadmap: restructuring the elections commission council and resolving issues in the constitutional and legal framework for presidential and parliamentary elections.
The agreement provides for changes to the electoral framework and for the elections to be held under a single executive authority. The parties are expected to work toward organizing elections within a period not exceeding 24 months, while the House of Representatives and the High State Council are expected to approve the agreement nationally within one month. A monitoring mechanism will also be established to support implementation.
The European Union Delegation to Libya and the diplomatic missions of EU member states described the agreement as an important step toward unifying institutions and creating the conditions for fair national elections. The missions called on the House of Representatives and the High State Council to engage constructively with the agreement’s implications and take the necessary steps without delay.
The 4+4 committee continued its work after Hana Tetteh, the United Nations Special Representative for Libya, briefed the United Nations Security Council on April 22. The process focused on the first two stages of a three-track roadmap announced in August 2025. The roadmap provides for establishing an electoral framework, forming a new unified government and conducting an inclusive structured dialogue.
Libya has the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity and the Benghazi-based government of Osama Hammad, appointed by the House of Representatives at the beginning of 2022. The agreement was signed as part of international and local efforts toward elections expected to end the long-running political division.
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