Support for the political agreement and his commitment to institutional unity strengthen Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s role in the complex process toward stability in the North African country
Soldecanarias.net / Redacción
Libya is facing a new opportunity to move toward political stability after years marked by institutional division, internal conflict and difficulties in reaching an agreement that would pave the way for national elections.
Against this backdrop, the figure of Marshal Khalifa Haftar is once again gaining significant importance. As the leader of the Libyan National Army and a figure with considerable influence over large parts of the country, he has become one of the key actors in any process aimed at overcoming Libya’s political fragmentation.
The support expressed by Deputy General Commander Saddam Haftar for the agreement reached between the Libyan parties carries particular political significance. Haftar’s camp has stressed that the understanding could help remove the obstacles that have prevented Libya from moving forward toward presidential and parliamentary elections for years.
The central message coming from Haftar’s camp is clear: the priority must be to restore the unity of the state and its institutions and to give the Libyan people the opportunity to choose their leaders through the ballot box.
Libya’s recent history shows that any political solution will require the involvement of the country’s main centres of power. In this context, Haftar represents a force that cannot be ignored in the search for a lasting agreement.
His influence in eastern and southern Libya, together with his ability to mobilise political, military and social structures, has made Marshal Haftar one of the unavoidable protagonists of the Libyan political landscape. His supporters argue that this influence can be used to strengthen security, combat fragmentation and move toward a state with more cohesive institutions.
The message coming from his camp following the agreement places particular emphasis on the need to move from declarations to concrete action. According to this position, the next stage should focus on implementing the commitments reached and moving without delay toward simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
This position offers Haftar an opportunity to project himself not only as a military actor, but also as a key political interlocutor in Libya’s future. Stability will require agreements between actors with very different interests and, therefore, the negotiating capacity of those who exercise real influence on the ground becomes particularly important.
Haftar’s role also extends beyond Libya’s borders. The country’s strategic position in the Mediterranean, its proximity to Europe, its energy resources and its importance along migration routes mean that any progress toward stability could have direct consequences for the wider region.
For Europe and the Mediterranean countries, a more stable Libya would create greater opportunities for cooperation on security, energy, border management and the fight against human trafficking networks. This explains why Libya’s political process is attracting attention far beyond its own borders.
Against this backdrop, Haftar’s message of national unity, institutional reconstruction and elections seeks to establish him as one of the central actors in the new phase that may be opening in the country.
The challenge will be to turn the current understanding into an effective political process capable of overcoming Libya’s deep divisions. This will require the participation of the country’s different political and social actors, as well as a framework of guarantees capable of rebuilding the trust of a population that has been waiting for years for a definitive way out of the crisis.
Libya once again finds itself at a crossroads. And on the road toward potential political normalisation, the figure of Khalifa Haftar will remain difficult to overlook. His influence, his stated commitment to national unity and the support he maintains across significant parts of the country make him a central piece in any equation seeking to shape Libya’s future.
