Libyan Parliament Speaker says optimistic about agreement with High State Council on regal positions and constitutional basis
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives (Parliament), Aguila Saleh, said Monday he was confident of reaching an agreement with the High State Council on the appointments of the regal positions and a constitutional basis for the elections in the country.
Speaking in Cairo, Egypt, during a press conference, Saleh, quoted by the Libyan electronic portal "Bawabat Al-Wasat", said that an agreement would be reached in the coming days on the regal positions with the State Council, especially since there is a rapprochement between the two chambers.
He said in Cairo that "the sovereignty posts are under the supervision of the House of Representatives because they are the arms of the House in controlling the executive authority, dismissing or appointing to these posts so these people are under the competence of the House of Representatives.
The Libyan official recalled that the political agreement provided for consultation with the High State Council regarding these positions, adding: "We consulted them more than a year ago in Bouznika (Morocco) and agreed to change these positions. We fulfilled our duties and sent files for the State Council to sort out the files and send us lists, and then we elect the candidates for these posts in the Chamber of MPs."
The Speaker of the Parliament, Aguila Saleh, called on the Committee in charge of finalizing the constitutional rule to send its conclusions to the High National Electoral Commission for the organization of elections.
He stressed that "Libya has a Constitutional Declaration that was drafted after the success of the 17 February revolution. As a result, elections for the General National Congress (GNC-Outgoing Assembly) and the House of Representatives were held, and then a Constitutional Drafting Committee was elected".
"So there is an existing constitutional rule, and there is a new draft of a permanent constitution that we hope will be agreed upon."
Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh reaffirmed on Monday that there was a great rapprochement with the State Council to resolve the political crisis in Libya, expecting a breakthrough in the crisis before the end of this year.
Saleh arrived in Cairo Monday for talks with the Arab League Secretary General and UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily who is in the Egyptian capital to resolve the political crisis in Libya, the main key to which is the mechanism for holding elections.
The Speaker of the Libyan Parliament called on the Arab League to intervene to resolve the Libyan crisis, saying: "We had hoped that the Arab League would resolve the Libyan crisis from the beginning, but due to circumstances beyond its control as a result of foreign interventions, it has not been able to do so."
He added that he would meet with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and the UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, stressing that the House of Representatives was communicating with all parties, foremost among which is the High State Council, as there is a rapprochement to resolve the crisis in the near future.
An agreement was recently reached in Rabat, Morocco, between the Speaker of the Parliament, Saleh and the chairman of the High State Council, Khaled Al-Mechri, on the appointment to sovereign positions of the Libyan state, the unification of the executive by early 2023 and the organization of general elections in accordance with the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.
But this agreement was rejected by the Libyan Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba, who considered it a parallel path aimed at setting up a new transitional stage, instead of going directly to elections in response to Libyans' aspirations to choose their leaders.
-0- PANA BY/IS/BBA/RA 28Nov2022
