Libya’s new interim government is facing an arduous task

The country’s path to elections and sustainable peace is full of unspoken obstacles.

The parliamentary and presidential elections planned for the end of the year give the long-suffering people of Libya reason to be hopeful about their country’s future. Nevertheless, their optimism is tempered by the ongoing struggles to achieve transitional justice, the fears about possible election violence, and the many other challenges the North African country’s newly formed interim government is facing. Indeed, without a coordinated international and domestic effort to prevent election violence, deliver transitional justice, and consolidate the legitimacy of the new government, Libya can easily plunge back into conflict. In March 2021, a new interim executive was established in Libya. The Government of National Unity (GNU), selected through a United Nations-supported process, replaced the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and the parallel eastern cabinet based in the Cyrenaica region and not recognised by the international community.