Haftar urges the formation of a unified government to oversee the elections
The Libyan army commander, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the powerful figure in the east of the country, called for the formation of a new government to oversee the upcoming elections, announcing his support for the convergence around the laws regulating the general elections. This is the first supportive stance of the laws issued by the 6+6 Joint Committee, which paves the way for his participation in the presidential process.
The 6+6 Committee (consisting of six members from the House of Representatives and six from the State Council) succeeded, after days of talks in Bouznika, Morocco, in reaching an agreement on the laws regulating the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
Despite the signing of the Libyan 6+6 Joint Parliamentary Committee on the election laws, which have a binding nature and do not even require the approval of the House of Representatives and the State Council, the official signing ceremony of the agreement did not take place as planned, due to the controversy surrounding the dual citizenship and military nominations, as well as the increase in the number of members of the National Assembly from 200 to 290.
The General Command of the Libyan Army stated in a press release on Friday evening, “We support the negotiations and convergence that would end the political division, and what the 6+6 Committee has done between the House of Representatives and the High Council of State is one of the important steps that pave the way for the presidential and parliamentary elections.”
It continued, “We also support all sincere political solutions to end the political crisis in Libya, without marginalization, exclusion, or encroachment on the rights of any party, in order to achieve the broadest possible consensus on the electoral laws for holding the elections on time and ensuring the implementation of their results.”
The Command also called on the House of Representatives and the State Council to end the political division as soon as possible, through “forming a new unified technocratic government to oversee the organization of elections throughout the country.” This is a demand previously presented by both the House of Representatives and the High Council of State and has been included in the draft election laws issued by the 6+6 Committee.
Some view the idea of a mini-government as a maneuver by the Parliament Speaker, Aguila Saleh, and the President of the High Council of State, Khaled Al-Mishri, to continue procrastination and delay without holding the two councils responsible, especially after the pressures they faced in the past months, where the UN envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily, hinted more than once at their role in obstruction.
It is expected that the outgoing Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, will refuse to hand over power to a new government, as he has repeatedly stated that he will only transfer power to an elected government.
The Libyan army, in its statement, called on the United Nations mission to “support the consensus that leads to conducting elections in a proper and transparent manner, to achieve political, social, and economic stability for the Libyan state.”
The statement from Haftar’s leadership came after a statement from the UN mission, in which its head, Abdoulaye Bathily, made contacts with Aguila Saleh, Khaled Al-Mishri, and Khalifa Haftar to discuss the draft laws of the 6+6 Committee for presidential and parliamentary elections.
The mission stated that it continues to engage with all parties to ensure that the election laws gain acceptance from everyone and are implementable in a favorable environment.
Deputy Head of the UN mission, Residon Zeninnga, also met with representatives of 17 Libyan political groups and forces, including political parties and alliances, as part of meetings aimed at gathering opinions from various parties regarding the current developments in Libya and the draft electoral laws prepared by the 6+6 Committee.
According to the mission’s clarification, the representatives of Libyan political forces provided their comments on the draft laws reached by the 6+6 Committee, especially regarding the aspects related to the participation of political parties in the elections. They also expressed their concerns about provisions that may hinder the practical implementation of these laws and the disagreements over the political aspects that may arise due to these proposed laws.
Later, 11 Libyan political parties issued a joint statement demanding the rapid holding of parliamentary and presidential elections as soon as possible. They called on the 6+6 Committee to address the gaps in the legislative and presidential election laws, including expanding the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives and allocating new electoral districts.
The statement of the Libyan parties considered that controversial issues must be referred to the permanent constitution and decided upon by a newly elected legislative authority. They emphasized that they will work with all parties in the upcoming political phase to adopt a comprehensive solution approach to the crisis through simultaneous political, economic, and security tracks.
The fate of this agreement still remains uncertain and has not received broad consensus, as several political parties have expressed reservations about some laws and demanded their reconsideration and amendment. The Speaker of Parliament, for example, considered that the election law includes points aimed at “derailing the electoral process,” while the President of the State Council called for further understanding on some points. The Election Commission also called for amending some provisions that cannot be implemented in reality and pose a threat to the electoral process.
It was planned for Libya to hold presidential and legislative elections in December 2021, but they were postponed until further notice due to disagreements among the various parties.
