Libyan Parliament Speaker, Ageela Saleh said the outgoing Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba “is expired and lacks legitimacy” after the withdrawing of confidence from it in September.
In an interview with Al-Araby TV, Saleh said the Parliament was not a part of any rapprochement between the GNU and the Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. “I don’t think Hafter will engage himself in dialogues with the outgoing government,” he explained.
Saleh added that “the presence of Hafter as the Commander of the army is a matter for the legislative authority only. Parliament alone has the right to appoint the Commander-in-Chief of the army, and thus Khalifa Haftar remains at the head of this position,” he explained.
He pointed out that the GNU is illegitimate, and that its existence is a fait accompli rather than a legal one.
Regarding the appointment of new Heads for sovereign state position, the Speaker said the House will address the UN Advisor, Stephanie Williams to inform her that “the Parliament intends to appoint the vacant positions individually, if it does not receive a response from the High Council of State (HCS). “
The sovereign positions that are to be named by the Parliament are the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), the Head of the Audit Bureau, the Head of the Administrative Control Authority, and the Head of the Anti-Corruption Commission. In addition to the Chairman and members of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC), and the Head of the Supreme Court.
He said that he had not yet received an invitation to meet HCS Head, Khaled Al-Mishri after their meeting in Geneva. They had failed to reach a consensus on the constitution, and the conditions for the candidacy of the Presidential elections.
Saleh stressed the need to hold a popular referendum on the new Libyan constitution. “There are demands from a large number of Libyans to implement the federal system based on regions,” he said. “This does not mean dividing the state, but rather imposing local rule in order to avoid marginalisation, and there are justifications for these demands,” Saleh added.