Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received reports of the alleged replacements elected municipal councils and mayors with military personnel by the Libyan National Army in areas under its control; and what recent representations he has made to representatives of (a) the Libyan National Army; (b) the House of Representatives and (c) the authorities in Bayda on that issue.

​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recognises the important role municipal authorities are playing in providing essential services to Libyan citizens. The UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is supporting municipal authorities through contributions to the UN's Stabilisation Facility for Libya, and we have recently tendered for a partner to implement a new programme working with local authorities and the Ministry of Local Government to improve local service delivery. We are also following closely the replacement of elected councils with military governors, particularly in the East of the country. As part of our engagement with both the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army (LNA), we have expressed our concern about the issue of military governors on several occasions. We do not have official engagement with the unrecognised parallel government in Bayda. We understand that some of these military governors have now been replaced with civilian councils, and that a number of municipalities in LNA-controlled areas are due to have municipal elections in the near future.