HoR Road Map Committee must set deadline for holding elections – with or without a constitution

By Sami Zaptia.

Tripoli, 24 January 2022:

The House of Representatives (HoR) Road Map Committee must set an inevitable deadline for holding Libya’s postponed elections in accordance with the two laws issued by the HoR.

This was the outcome of the HoR’s Tobruk session today reportedly attended by 122 members and headed by permanent Speaker Ageela Saleh after it heard a report from its Road Map Committee. The Road Map Committee was set up in December after the 24 December 2021 elections were postponed. The committee had to report a way forward to holding the postponed elections.

The HoR Official Spokesperson, Abdalla Belheeg, reported that the HoR intends to go ahead with elections – with or without a constitution. However, the HoR has left the door open for the constitutional track to run in parallel with efforts to reorganise the elections.

The HoR decided that:

If the Road Map Committee succeeds in its endeavours on the constitutional path, the elections shall be in accordance with the permanent constitution, provided that the proposed new constitutional committee – proposed by Ageela Saleh - shall be made up of experts and not members of both the HoR and High State Council.

The work and speed of with which this new constitutional drafting committee accomplishes its tasks is to be followed up without interfering with its work and without determining the duration of its work.

This is provided that the required amendments are submitted to the HoR, and the HoR then refers them to the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) to conduct a referendum in the event that the endeavours in the constitutional path succeed.

Meanwhile, a Tripoli event attended yesterday by, amongst others, Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, High State Council head Khaled Mishri, Central Bank of Libya Governor Sadek El-Kaber and Audit Bureau head Khaled Shakshak called for a constitution to be agreed prior to the holding of elections.

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