Libyan Parliament Speaker Urges Formation of United Government for Election Administration

Today, Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh called for the formation of a unified government to prepare Libya for long-awaited elections.

This came during Saleh’s meeting with British Ambassador Caroline Hurndall in the eastern city of Qubba.

The talks focused on a range of issues, including efforts to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Libyan Joint Committee 6+6, which was formed jointly by the parliament of eastern Libya and the Supreme Council in Tripoli to prepare election laws, reached an agreement last week during a meeting in Morocco to start finalizing election laws to hold the ballot.

The committee’s spokesman, Omar Abu Balifa, said that it was agreed that the legislative branch would consist of two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate. He cited progress on related issues such as the number and distribution of parliamentary seats, representation of women and dealing with electoral violations.

Abu Balifa added that the legislative and presidential elections will be held simultaneously to ensure a comprehensive electoral procedure.

Libya has been mired in political stalemate since late 2021 when scheduled elections were called off due to disagreements over rules and the House of Representatives, based in the east of the country, withdrew its support from the UN-recognised interim government.

Since then, peacemaking efforts have focused on getting the House of Representatives and the High Council of State to agree on a constitutional basis for elections and voting rules.

Libya has been riven by civil war and instability since the overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.