Libyan Parliament Asks UN to Support United Cabinet Establishment for Elections

10:12, 5 October 2023

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - In September, Libyan media reported that the country's rival political forces could not reach a consensus on the electoral legislation, primarily on proposed eligibility criteria for presidential candidates. The contentious criteria include dual citizenship, military service and criminal records.

Sputnik

The Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, has issued a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, asking him to support internationally the formation of a unified government in Libya tasked with organizing presidential and parliamentary elections in the country.

Addressing Guterres, Saleh "confirmed the parliament’s compliance with its obligations in order to hold elections in the country," which included passing a law on the election of the head of state and on the election to the national assembly.

"To ensure the voting rights of the citizens in accordance with the will of Libyan people, the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives called on the UN Secretary General to mobilize international support for forming a united government whose task will be to hold presidential and parliamentary elections," the official's letter read.

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Later in the day, the House of Representatives said that it had issued a law to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in the country.

"The House of Representatives on Wednesday issued a law on the election of the President of the state and a law on elections to the National Assembly. The Speaker of the House of Representatives ordered their forwarding to the [Libyan] High National Election Commission," the statement read.

On Monday, the Libyan House of Representatives unanimously approved the law on the election of the head of state and on the election of the national assembly.

A specially created joint 6+6 committee consisting of representatives of the parliament and the Tripoli-based High Council of State had worked on the bill for many months.

Libya has been in turmoil since a NATO invasion helped topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. His death led to a decade-long rivalry between the UN-backed administration in Tripoli and the parliament in Tobruk. The UN-brokered reconciliation process put a caretaker unity government in charge in 2021, but the interim authorities have so far failed to hold elections due to procedural disagreements.