Libya's main governing bodies agree to hold elections

Libya's top governing bodies agreed Thursday on a roadmap for holding long-awaited presidential and parliamentary elections within eight months.

The heads of the parliament, Presidential Council and High Council of State said in a joint statement that the roadmap sought to end Libya's long-running transitional period and "unify the country's institutions".

The oil-rich North African country has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

It remains divided between a UN-recognised government headquartered in the capital Tripoli and an eastern rival administration operating from Benghazi and Tobruk.

Benghazi-based parliament speaker Aguila Salah, along with Presidential Council chief Mohamed el-Menfi and High Council of State leader Mohammed Takala -- both based in Tripoli -- said the elections would be held simultaneously by February 17, 2027.

Without formally rejecting Thursday's roadmap, the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar, said it instead backed a US plan also aiming to unify the country's executive powers.

Several reports have recently pointed that the United States - through President Donald Trump's senior adviser on Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos - has been pushing for a rapprochement between Libya's eastern and western authorities.

Boulos's plan was "a unique and distinctive initiative" and "a peaceful resolution to the political crisis" that would pave the way for "holding elections as soon as possible" in Libya, the LNA said.

Presidential elections aiming to unify the fractured country were scheduled for late 2021, but were postponed indefinitely.

The statements came as the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Hanna Tetteh, addressed the UN Security Council on the country's recent developments.