The Libyan crisis and the rotation of committees

Preface

The President of the High Electoral Commission stated, “There will be an electoral process in Libya during the current year. It depends on the speed of the (6 + 6) committee in completing the electoral laws.” In an interview with Anatolia news agency last week.

As it is known that the Committee (6 + 6) is composed of members from the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State. The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitutional Declaration provided for its formation. tasked with preparing “consensual” electoral laws, Elections will be held through which the crisis over power struggle will be resolved between a government appointed by the House of Representatives in early 2022 headed by Fathi Bashagha. “The parliament stopped him about two weeks ago,” And the national unity government headed by Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba, who refuses to hand over power except to a government that comes through a new elected parliament, According to him.

The UN envoy Abdullah Batili confirmed, Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, Earlier on the need to support the Committee (6 + 6), To accomplish its tasks to reach the Libyan elections, On May 23, the Committee (6 + 6) called for the formation of a unified government that paves the way for elections before the laws that it is working on enacting and promulgating come into force. This was in a press conference in Bouznika, Morocco, the week before last. A member of the Committee (6 + 6) on behalf of the State Council, “Mama Suleiman,” told Libya Al-Ahrar TV, That the members of the committee signed the election laws after reaching “compromises regarding the candidacy of dual nationals and military personnel,” Stressing at the same time that “it is not possible now to disclose more about the contents.”

Although the (6 + 6) committee did not officially announce details of its agreement, However, a member of the Committee for the House of Representatives, Azzedine Kouereb, He announced on his Facebook page, On the unanimous vote of the committee members on the three laws. Referring to the electoral laws for the head of state, The House of Representatives and the Senate.

In further clarification, Fathallah Al-Sariri, a member of the Supreme State Committee of (6 + 6), said, The Speakers of the House of Representatives and the State Council, They will officially sign the agreement on Monday, June 5 in Bouznika, Morocco. This was stated by some sources close to the committee earlier to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. She explained that “Saleh and Al-Mashri will sign the initials of the agreement in an official ceremony in Bouznika, in the presence of the (6 + 6) committee.”

reactions

After these statements, A number of members of the House of Representatives declared their condemnation on Saturday, June 3, of the transgression of the (6 + 6) committee assigned by the House of Representatives and the state. To prepare electoral laws for the tasks for which they were chosen, At a time when close Libyan sources revealed, For the members of the committee to sign the final agreement on electoral laws among themselves.

In a statement to members of Parliament, Signed by 61 deputies. In it, he defined the tasks of the Committee (6 + 6), Agreeing on the points of contention related to the election of the president. stating that the committee, “Deviated from and exceeded its mission by increasing the number of seats in the House of Representatives, And defining the legislative power to two chambers.

The deputies who signed the statement demanded, By not approving any amendments without consulting the Council, and non-interference in parliamentary seats, more or less, and leave it to the next constitution.” They carried the presidency of the House of Representatives represented by Aqila Saleh and his two deputies. responsibility for, “The differences that this will cause among the people of the country in the event that this amendment is signed without referring to the Council for consultation and agreement on it.”

In another statement by members of the State Council who reject the Thirteenth Amendment, They rejected all the outputs of the (6 + 6) committee. deemed unconstitutional, As for the Presidential Council, He hasn’t commented yet.

Conclusion

Libyans may become accustomed to the policy of action and reaction. and the political wrangling between the legislative and executive components of the state, And both of them have reasons that link them to the homeland and patriotism. Upholding the interest of the people.

And what should be noted, The conflict of interests between local and international actors in the Libyan political scene, It complicates the issue of reaching any consensus that would lead to legislative and presidential elections. Perhaps some members of the Committee (6 + 6) are fully aware that what was finally agreed upon in Skhirat, It will not have any political or procedural effect. It is a jump in the air. This is due to the depth of disagreement over controversial articles in the draft electoral law. even on a popular level, The Justice and Construction Party issued a statement rejecting the same outcomes. And he considered it formulated to be obstructed by judicial appeals, And considered a committee (6 + 6), It exceeded its powers by proposing the formation of a government that would supervise the elections.

Earlier, Batili had expressed his unwillingness to attend the signing ceremony in Bouznika. Considering the agreement unrealistic and unenforceable, This is what reinforces his choice to form a distinguished, high-level committee. whose idea he presented in his statement to the Security Council at the end of February 2023, Noting that only ten days remain for this deadline, which Batelli granted to the Libyan parties. It is not known yet what are the criteria according to which Batelli will choose the members of this “reputable” committee. Which will also find itself at the heart of local, regional and international conflicts. With a conflict of interests between the parties to the extent that makes the possibility of reaching real productive agreements that can be built upon, it is very difficult and complicated.

And noteworthy, The same is the representative, Izz al-Din Qwerib, and in a special statement yesterday, Monday, to the Anatolia News Agency, That the joint (6 + 6) committee between the House of Representatives and the state has postponed the official signing of its outputs related to the electoral laws it is tasked with drafting, And he said in it, “The signature in initials on the outputs of the (6 + 6) committee has been postponed to tomorrow, Tuesday,” adding, The postponement was due to organizational reasons. Without giving more details.

Possible scenarios

The signing of the outputs of the (6 + 6) committee may be announced in Bouznika. By Aqila Saleh and Khaled Al-Mashri, This will be met with widespread populist and elite rejection. makes the signature just a transient event that has no effect, The situation continues as it is.

The United States may declare its blessing for this consensus, It is pressuring some local and international actors to deal with this agreement and go to the elections.

Perhaps the United States of America will ignore this agreement altogether. And due to that, Because according to this agreement, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is entitled to run for the presidential elections. This is what the United States rejects.

June 5 , 2023

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