Could 4+4 make 1 in Libya? UN-backed agreement looks to unite rival camps

What the report says

Representatives of Libya’s rival political blocs signed a new UN-backed “4+4” agreement in Tripoli, in a development that Al Jazeera says is meant to open a path toward presidential and parliamentary elections within 24 months. The deal, mediated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, is intended to address long-running legal and institutional disputes that have helped keep the country divided since the 2011 uprising that removed Muammar Gaddafi.

According to the report, Libya remains split between competing authorities in the west and east, with the Tripoli-based administration linked to Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and the eastern power structure centered on the House of Representatives and Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army. The article says the agreement creates an eight-member committee drawn equally from the rival institutions and military-aligned camps, and it seeks to place future voting under a single executive framework.

A key element is the effort to resolve issues that derailed the 2021 election plan, including rules on dual nationals and military figures running for office. The pact also calls for changes to the elections commission and rotating official sessions among Tripoli, Benghazi and Sabha. Al Jazeera notes that some Libyan figures welcomed the deal as more grounded than past accords, while others boycotted or criticized the process, warning that outside influence may again undermine implementation.

The report places the agreement in a broader setting of failed peace efforts, shifting regional alignments and continued competition over political and military control, which helps explain why the outcome remains uncertain despite the latest signing.