Miss Hannah Servatete, speaking for the United Nations mission, told the Security Council that two core milestones for Libya's election roadmap remain incomplete: reconstituting the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) board and passing recommended amendments to the constitutional and legal framework for elections. "It is necessary to complete these 2 tasks in order to have credible elections," she said.

Servatete said the two institutional committees of the House of Representatives and the High State Council had previously agreed on dates to reconstitute HNEC but that the steps were not finalized despite multiple engagements. She attributed the delays to "a lack of trust between the two institutions, their own internal divisions, and the inability to overcome their differences," while acknowledging that some members had made serious efforts to advance the processes.

The envoy said the HNEC's legal framework requires regional representation and that the East is currently not represented on the board, though the commission still has the minimum number of members for a quorum and has been able to oversee municipal elections. She noted that Speaker Aguila Saleh and demonstrations in five eastern cities have called for presidential elections, and that HNEC has stated its readiness to begin preparations for presidential and legislative votes starting in April 2026.

Servatete also said Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dibaba had echoed calls for elections and announced an intended government reshuffle; she said the mission is not privy to reshuffle details. She urged Libya's main political actors to agree on the legal framework so HNEC can proceed and said UNSMIL would advance a mechanism to address changes to electoral laws.

The envoy warned that if the two institutions fail to agree on the first milestones, she would seek an alternative mechanism and asked for the council's support; she said she intends to present that mechanism in her February briefing. The mission emphasized that completing these legal and institutional steps is essential to credible national elections.