The UN praised Libya’s election deal and the Security Council urged the Libyan people to seize the moment

Key points

• Libya’s rival political camps have agreed to new rules for running an election commission and holding a vote within two years
• The UN Security Council welcomed the agreement and urged all parties to immediately act on it
• The top UN official in Libya says trust – both among politicians and the Libyan people – remains fragile
• Hate speech and harassment online are pushing Libyan women out of politics, he warned, and stronger legal protections are needed

In a statement issued Tuesday, council members praised the August 30 agreement reached by the Libyan parties in what is known as the “Smaller Meeting”, a negotiation track brokered by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The deal re-establishes the board of Libya’s High Election Commission and changes the legal framework for parliamentary and presidential elections, which will be held within two years under a single government.

The council pledged its ‘full support’ for the mission

The council urged Libya’s political leaders to support the agreement and move towards its implementation, while reaffirming its “full support” for the agreement. UNSMIL and its chairman, the Special Representative of the Secretary General Hanna Tetteh.

The current standoff in Libya between rival governments in the west and east dates back to the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 after civil conflict and international military intervention, which led to the collapse of state institutions, left the security structure fragmented and sparked a struggle for legitimacy, authority and the oil-rich economy.

Talk to UN News last week, Ms Tetteh described the agreement as “help overcome problems that have been in our way for years”, adding that this gives the mission “an initial opportunity to further engage with Libyan stakeholders…and build trust in the process we hope to achieve by working with them”.

The deal resolve the two most complicated disputes hampering the election: how to structure the electoral commission board well so that all three regions of Libya are represented, and the rules that link the success of legislative and presidential elections.

Rather than negotiating separately with Libya’s two competing legislative bodies, Tetteh said UNSMIL gathered representatives from the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, the east-based command of the Libyan National Army, and both chambers of parliament to discuss the issue together..

Fragile trust

But he warned that trust remains fragile – “not just among political actors, but among the Libyan people themselves” – in the mechanisms that will ultimately produce the vote.

This trust-building is based on structured dialogue that UNSMIL conducted between December 2025 and June 2026, in consultation with 120 Libyans from all regions and communities in the country.

Tetteh called broad public support the biggest challenge ahead, apart from uniting Libya’s divided military, security and economic institutions.

“We are not here to replace the Libyan people,” he said, “but for support them in achieving their political aspirations towards good governance, unity, peace and security.”

He also expressed concern about hate speech and online harassment targeting Libyan women active in public life, which he said was designed to “intimidate them and prevent them from exercising their rights”.

As many as 35 percent of women participated in the structured dialogue, and Ms Tetteh called for stronger legal protections so they can take part in civil life without fear. Hear more from him on this in the clip below.

On security, he noted that rivalries between armed groups are still concentrated mainly in western Libya, but he said local leaders there have so far shown a willingness to work with UNSMIL to defuse tensions before they escalate.