The Head of Libya’s High Council of State (HCS), Khaled Al-Mishri said that “all political forces are in agreement to hold elections as soon as possible.” He explained that holding the elections “requires the preparation of a peaceful constitutional base, and the formation of a unified government that controls the country.”
In a televised interview on Sunday, Al-Mishri said that he “refuses to only change sovereign positions, without changing the government. I rejected this proposal during my meeting with the Speaker of Parliament, Counselor Ageela Saleh, in Morocco,” he noted.
He pointed out that “all the articles of the constitutional base for elections were agreed upon, except for military personnel’s right to run for the Presidential elections.” He also added that he asked the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba about the possibility of holding elections, “but Dbaiba ruled out holding the elections.”
Notably, Saleh and Al-Mishri agreed to unify the executive authorities of Libya by 2023. They held a meeting in Morocco to discuss the political blockage, the constitution, and the distribution of sovereign positions.
During a joint press conference at the headquarters of the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Mishri said: “2023 will not come unless the executive authority and sovereign positions are united.”
“I agreed with Saleh that the division of institutions led to poor conditions for citizens, and a deepening of the crisis. We agreed on 2 out of 7 sovereign positions,” he added, without mentioning further details on the agreed positions.
The duo also affirmed the “necessary procedures for the Parliamentary and Presidential elections as soon as possible.”
In turn, Saleh said he agreed to resume dialogue to “do what is necessary for the holding of Parliamentary and Presidential elections, in accordance with a roadmap and legislation.”
“We agreed to implement the outputs of the Bouznika track, related to sovereign positions in the coming weeks and before the end of December,” Saleh added.