Libyan “representatives” preparing to postpone the elections
A dispute arose yesterday between the Libyan House of Representatives and the Electoral Commission over the authority to announce the postponement of the scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections, while Stephanie Williams, Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Libya, expanded her circle of consultations to include the most prominent candidates for these controversial elections.
The House of Representatives announced that its committee charged with following up the electoral process and communicating with the High Electoral Commission and the Supreme Judicial Council had completed its work and no longer had any tasks in accordance with the completion of its final report.
Abdullah Blehaq, the council’s official spokesman, confirmed that the matter of examining the report belongs to the council as a whole, in the first official session that will be determined later by its presidency; However, Imad al-Sayeh, head of the Electoral Commission, told the Turkish “Anadolu” news agency yesterday that the commission had no technical problem in holding the elections on time.
Pointing out that in the event of postponing the elections, the parliament is the one who announces, not the commission.
Blihaq added: “It is not within our competence to announce the postponement, and whoever issued the execution order is the one who issues the suspension order, and he is the one who decides the polling day, let alone the postponement decision.”
For his part, Fawzi Al-Nuwairi, the designated speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohamed Al-Hafi, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, called for not implementing the law that includes amending some provisions of the Judicial Law; Because it has no reference or legal basis, and it contradicts what the members of the House of Representatives concluded and voted on.
Al-Nuwairi called on Al-Hafi, to take all legal and precautionary measures and reports followed in such cases, and urgently.
While he said that contacts have not been interrupted between the various Libyan parties, he denied that the UN advisor Williams communicated with the House of Representatives during her recent visit to the city of Benghazi.
A spokesman for Aqila Saleh, who gave up the presidency of the House of Representatives and ran for the presidential elections, denied the existence of official meetings with Khaled Al-Mashri, head of the Supreme Council of State, pointing out that the new date for the elections will be announced soon.
In turn, Williams said that she met a number of presidential and parliamentary candidates registered in Tripoli, Misurata and Benghazi, including Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, head of the unity government, Fathi Bashagha, the former Minister of the Interior, and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander-in-chief of the National Army, separately, indicating that she intends to meet more From the candidates in the coming period to hear their views on the electoral process and ways to move forward.
The UN advisor pledged that she would spare no effort by working with all Libyans to support them in bringing Libya to safety, expressing her happiness to visit the city of Benghazi again; Where she discussed with Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Qatrani, the electoral process, and the continuing need for reconciliation, and briefed him on the nature of her tasks with regard to leading mediation efforts to enhance the implementation of the three dialogue tracks, emanating from the Berlin process.
However, representatives of civil society organizations and some candidates for the parliamentary elections, from the city of Benghazi, announced their refusal to postpone the elections, and demanded in a statement that those who obstructed it be punished, and threatened to escalate the situation, including by threatening to declare civil disobedience until all the existing bodies were toppled.
She explained that she had what she described as a frank discussion with the mayor of Benghazi, Eng. Saqr Bojoaro, and members of the municipal council on issues of concern to the city, especially reconstruction, illegal immigration, and the need for decentralization; They stressed the urgent need to advance the process of national reconciliation.
On the other hand, local media loyal to the unity government re-published pictures distributed by the Turkish Ministry of Defense of explosive ordnance disposal and underwater defense exercises, which were presented by the Turkish Air Force to the Libyan army’s naval forces, at Al-Khums Naval Base, as part of joint cooperation agreements between the two parties. Military officials say 900 personnel have trained in 75 different courses at the base so far.
On the other hand, the delegation of the House of Representatives, which visited Turkey last week, announced the formation of a parliamentary friendship committee between Libya and Turkey. And he explained in a statement distributed by the council, that it was agreed to open the field of aviation and transport and shipping lines between Benghazi and Turkey, and to facilitate visa procedures.
In turn, Major General Fawzi Al-Mansoori called on the residents of the city of Sabha to surrender their weapons, and warned that the army forces would use force in the face of any military party that did not follow them, and demanded that the social cover be removed from criminals and outlaws.
In addition, the municipalities of Tripoli joined the local authorities calling on the Presidential Council to withdraw its decision to dismiss Abdel Basset Marwan, the commander of the Tripoli Military District, and considered it an absurd decision that exacerbated the situation. Build a civil state.
In another context, the unity government announced that a delegation from the Libyan State Funds Recovery and Asset Management Office ended its visit to the United States, which confirmed its support for the office’s work and strategies; Noting that the delegation, which discussed in Washington with officials in the US Departments of State, Treasury and Justice that some legal institutions were illegally interfering in the file, contacted law firms that are not legally authorized to take judicial steps, and provide all the information in their possession.
