Member of Libya’s High Council of State (HCS), Naima Al-Hami said that holding elections and changing the government are “two related matters.” She indicated that Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba’s government is “unable to extend its influence throughout the country, nor can it undertake a matter such as nationwide elections.”
In press statements, Al-Hami said: “If it is agreed to redraft the entire roadmap, then Dbaiba has only to be honest with the people in his aspiration for the elections, as he says. He should hand over power so that we go to the polls, and the people declare their will. But if Dbaiba continues to insist on not handing over power, except to an elected government, he will be the first obstruction, and here we expect a role for the international community.”
The HCS member stressed the need for urgent elections. She pointed out that the expected roadmap “will include completing the constitutional base, approving election laws, and defining them with tasks and time periods. As well as create a new government, complete the draft agreement on sovereign positions, and unify the executive authority.”
Al-Hami emphasised the necessity of “agreeing on the articles of military personnel and dual nationals.” She affirmed that an agreement on contentious articles must take place between the two councils, not the two presidencies. “If the two presidents lay down their broad lines, then they must be approved and voted upon by both chambers, and this is what all previous agreements included.”
She expressed her aspiration for the agreement to be purely Libyan, and for the UN mission to assume its “important role in monitoring and following up implementation mechanisms.” She noted concerns about “possible opposition to this agreement from some parties.”
On Thursday, Parliament Speaker Ageela Saleh thanked “Egypt and its political leadership for their great efforts to help Libya overcome its decade-long crisis.”
These remarks came at a press conference held at the Egyptian Parliament, and in the presence of Egyptian House Speaker, Hanafi Gebali and Head of the HCS, Khaled Al-Mishri.
In turn, Al-Mishri praised Egypt’s role in hosting the Libyan joint committee’s meetings, “to secure a consensus over constitutional arrangements, paving the way for the long-awaited elections. After we have reached a consensus over the constitutional arrangements, we will declare a new roadmap for elections.”
