On Saturday, the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR), Ageela Saleh, said that the Libyan Parliament is working to form a unified executive authority. It aims to provide necessary security and logistic support for the Elections Commission and achieve national reconciliation.
This came in his speech during the 34th annual conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, which aims to mobilise greater support among Arab nations for a stronger and more united Arab world amid increasing global challenges.
During the conference Saleh stated, “we are currently striving to formulate consensual laws that will be accepted by all parties.”
He noted the HoR already issued the necessary laws for holding elections and the referendum law on the constitution, in addition to approving the 13th amendment to the Constitutional Declaration. This is considered a main step towards elections.
The Speaker also reviewed the Parliament’s endeavors to find a permanent solution to the Libyan political crisis, saying, “we have achieved great success in halting the fighting between the Libyans, and we headed with all sincerity towards signing political agreements and reaching social consensus that would help end ongoing conflicts.”
In addition, Saleh called on the Arab Parliament’s speakers to support the Libyan HoR in exercising its constitutional right as the sole representative of the Libyan people and the voice of their free will.
Notably, Speakers, representatives, and lawmakers from at least a dozen Arab Parliaments were present in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to take part in a session of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The Union was formed in 1974 and its annual conference was last held in Baghdad 40 years ago.
This year, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mohamed al-Halbousi is chairing the two-day conference, where speakers of fourteen Arab Parliaments and representatives of four others are taking part.
Oil-rich Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011 when longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
