Libya’s Rival Chambers Agree to Set New Roadmap for Elections

The Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Ageela Saleh, and the Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Khaled Al-Mishri agreed to set “a clear and specific” roadmap for elections.

The roadmap, which is yet to be announced, aims “to organize elections and unify state institutions,” according to a joint statement issued by the two chambers.

Saleh and Al-Mishri met in Cairo on Thursday. They also agreed to create a joint committee to refer the constitutional document to the two chambers for approval.

The two sides affirmed their “keenness to achieve a consensual constitutional basis, to reach the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.”

They thanked Egypt for “hosting the meeting and providing the appropriate environment for conducting the constitutional track talks, which led to this agreement.” They also thanked the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), headed by Abdoulaye Bathily.

“We extend our thanks to all the friendly and brotherly countries that seek the stability of Libya, and its territorial integrity,” the joint statement concluded.

Last month, Saleh and Al-Mishri announced their agreement to revoke the establishment of new Constitutional Court law.

The two chambers said in a joint statement, that the step was taken in a move to “fulfil the constitutional entitlement, as a basis for the elections process.”

This decision came “out of a sense of national responsibility, and in appreciation of the current circumstances the country is going through.”

“This joint statement comes to reassure all political parties regarding the controversy over the Constitutional Court law,” the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba accused Saleh and Al-Mishri of plotting “suspicious deals.”

During a cabinet meeting, Dbaiba said that “Al-Mishri and Saleh are still in their positions, which has left the Libyans with continuous disappointments. The Parliament Speaker and the Head of the HCS are searching for new ways to share power, through suspicious deals.”

Dbaiba affirmed the readiness of his government and the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) to hold elections. “This year will be the year of elections, and the unity of institutions,” he said.