UN envoy: Failure to hold Libya vote could lead to conflict

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Libya is warning that failure to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 24 could renew division and conflict and thwart efforts to unite the oil-rich North African nation after a decade of turmoil. Jan Kubis told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that “aborting the drive for elections will be for many be a signal that violence is the only path to power in the country.” U.N.-sponsored peace talks brought a cease-fire last October between rival governments and installed an interim government to lead the country into December elections. But the legal framework to hold them is unsettled.