The UN special envoy for Libya, Ján Kubiš, has quit just a month before crucial presidential elections in the war-torn nation – without giving security council members a clear reason for his sudden departure.
“Mr Kubiš has tendered his resignation to the secretary general, who has accepted it with regret,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters, adding that António Guterres was “working on an appropriate replacement”.
Asked for a reason for Kubiš’s resignation, less than a year into his tenure, Dujarric demurred, saying only: “It’s a question you’ll have to ask him.”
“Mr Kubiš has made it clear that he is not slamming the door today,” Dujarric added, saying the envoy would deliver a monthly update on the situation in Libya, as scheduled, on Wednesday.
No date has been set for his departure, the spokesman said.
Libya’s first ever direct presidential poll is due to take place on 24 December, as the UN seeks to end a decade of violence in the oil-rich nation since a Nato-backed uprising that toppled and killed strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The 15 members of the security council were informed of Kubiš’s resignation earlier on Tuesday. Russia’s deputy envoy to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, told reporters he had no indication of his reasons for leaving, and was seeking to find out more.
A former UN envoy for Lebanon, the 69-year-old Kubiš took up the Libya post in January.
The security council recently split over whether to reconfigure the leadership of the global body’s political mission in Libya, with several members calling for the envoy’s post to be transferred from Geneva to Tripoli.
The renewal of the UN’s political mission to Libya, which should have been a formality, hit a major road bump in September over the issue.
The result was a three-week tug-of-war between London, which authored a resolution to extend the mission, and Moscow, which repeatedly threatened to use its veto over the measure.
The security council on 30 September ultimately agreed to an extension, but only until late January.
Africa, which had stepped up pressure in 2020 for the envoy to be from the continent rather than Europe, is expected to again seek to claim the post following Kubiš’s departure.
His sudden exit comes a day after the close of presidential nominations for Libya’s closely watched elections.
According to Libya’s electoral commission, 98 candidates including two women have submitted applications to be on the presidential ballot.
Among the most notable hopefuls are Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late dictator, and Khalifa Haftar, leader of the self-styled Libyan National Army in control of the country’s east and parts of the south.