On 16 December, UN Special Envoy to Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, addressed the UN Security Council (UNSC). Bathily expressed concern about signs of a partition in Libya, calling on Libya’s political rivals (i.e., the House of Representatives [HoR] and High State Council [HSC]) to finalise a constitutional basis for elections. Bathily stated that disagreements between the HoR and HSC ‘can no longer serve as a justification to hold an entire country hostage’. He asserted that if no prompt agreement between the two is reached an ‘alternative mechanism’ will be implemented. Bathily did not provide any additional details regarding the mechanism.