LIBYA: MATTERS TO KNOW

After 21st October 2015, the Council of Deputies (CoD) based in Tobruk and Bayda will see its legal mandate expire because its extension was technically invalid.

The CoD voted to extend its own mandate on October 5, but the extension can only be validated by referendum.

As the only elected body in the country, the Parliament constitutes the internationally-recognised government of Libya.

However, the 2014 elections were widely boycotted and then declared null and void by Supreme Court as - just 20% of the electorate participated instead minimum 45% - and the CoD was later forced out of Tripoli by Islamist militias.

Not only do some militias still hold Tripoli, they back the General National Congress (GNC) as  legitimate Libyan government. The mandate of the GNC expires in 2016.

What you need to know:

• Originally, UN hoped to establish a unified government in Libya by October 20 2015. The peace talks have exceeded past deadlines, while both parties remain ‘optimistic’ that it’s possible to reach an agreement.

• Both the two Libyan governments have expressed scepticism of the UN proposal for a national unity government. The October 20 deadline was set to be missed without any deal emerging from the peace talks.

• After 12 months of negotiation, Libya remains divided between two rival governments and a host of armed groups. Ahead of the deadline both the CoD and the GNC reasserted their claims to Libya’s sovereign wealth fund controlled by LIA (Libyan Investment Authority) worth an estimated €70 billion.

• During the Libyan civil war, over 1,500 militias have emerged and continue to compete with one another. Due to the conditions in Libya, the UN estimates 2 million people require some form of protection and humanitarian aid.