Bathily estimates that the country should set the new electoral laws by the end of June if it wants to hold elections in 2023
March 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations special representative for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, applauded this Saturday the recent agreement reached between the country’s rival “parliaments” to form a joint committee in charge of facilitating the road map to the postponed elections in the country.
At a press conference from Tripoli, reported by the Libyan portal Araeed, Bathily thanked the agreement reached by the Tripoli High Council of State — a consultative body that has ended up acquiring legislative status in the Libyan government recognized by the international community — and the Benghazi House of Representatives, which represents the parallel administration in the east of the country.
This agreement, reached at the beginning of the month, includes the formation of a joint committee of 12 members in charge of drafting electoral laws, and has been accompanied by a constitutional amendment, also approved in both chambers, which establishes the functions, as well as the eligibility criteria of the main high officials and government bodies: the president, the prime minister and the Parliament.
“If the 6+6 committee works quickly, and addresses the gaps and problems within a reasonable time frame, we could find a positive development ahead of the elections this year,” said the UN envoy.
In true chaotic Libyan politics, the House of Representatives was elected in 2014, while the High Council of State was formed as part of a 2015 political deal and drawn from a Parliament elected in 2012.
However, Bathily has warned that, for the elections to take place this 2023, the new electoral laws should be approved by the end of June and recalled that there are still certain disputes about the conditions for holding presidential elections despite the approach displayed by both cameras.
Bathily has previously acknowledged that the constitutional amendment falls short in some respects, such as the requirements for filing nominations.
Meanwhile, the roadmap for the elections, initially scheduled for the end of 2021, remains completely paralyzed by the conflict between Tripoli and the parallel authorities in the east of the country, and the security of the population is threatened by sporadic clashes between armed groups, particularly in areas close to oil fields.
