(3 minutes read)
- The delegations of the two rival bodies of Libya, which met at Rabat recently, did not find any solution on the contested electoral law.
- Both the groups, however, called on the international community to support the political process underway
- Representatives of the Libyan High State Council (HSC), a body acting as a Senate, based in Tripoli (west), and the Parliament, which sits in Tobruk (east), had met last Thursday in a hotel in Rabat
The delegations of the two rival bodies of Libya, which met at Rabat recently, did not find any solution on the contested electoral law. Both the groups, however, called on the international community to support the political process underway.
Representatives of the Libyan High State Council (HSC), a body acting as a Senate, based in Tripoli (west), and the Parliament, which sits in Tobruk (east), had met last Thursday in a hotel in Rabat. A Libyan parliamentarian urged the international community to support the electoral process in Libya and to send international observers to ensure the smooth running of this important event to be held on December 24, this year. The dual presidential and legislative elections are to be held on this day.
Everyone is looking forward to hammering a legal framework for holding the election, which so far has been evading for one reason or the other. An electoral law was ratified on September 9 by the speaker of the Tobruk parliament without being put to a vote. This has tailored to give the strongman of the east, Khalifa Haftar, an edge in getting the plum post. The rival group had vetoed the ratification of the resolution on the ground that due process had not been followed, thereby meaning it was not put to vote and therefore, null and void.
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) called upon the two delegations to “move forward” in finalizing the legislative framework for the December poll. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending its political mission in Libya until January 31, anticipating that there will be a solution emerging by that time.
