Will The Chaos Of The Libyan Elections Continue? – OpEd

The Libyan legislative elections of 2022 came after the failure of the presidential elections that were to be held on December 24, 2021. Since then, many initiatives have emerged and dialogues have taken place between the Libyan parties in Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt, but without specifying a date for these elections, which the Libyans are looking forward to due to the lack of a complete constitutional basis for holding them despite the parties’ agreement on the provisions of that rule.

The UN envoy to Libya, Abdullah Batili, called on the political actors in Libya to seriously resume their cooperation, pointing out the need to take concrete measures to hold the elections. In the nearly a year since the elections were postponed, living conditions in Libya have deteriorated, and the society is demanding election procedures in order to choose their legitimate leaders.

The Libyan Presidential Council announced an initiative to solve the crisis in Libya, which it said would prepare for a constitutional dialogue as a priority to end the transitional stages, and that the initiative it put forward under the slogan. The Presidency Council’s approach to overcoming the political impasse and achieving national consensus will be launched through a consultative meeting between the Presidency Council, the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Council of State And that this initiative comes in line with the provisions of the road map issued by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum governing the stage, is based on the moral responsibility of the Presidential Council and is taken in the interest of achieving consensus between the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of the State to issue a constitutional basis that establishes parliamentary and presidential elections.

The General Assembly of the Supreme Court also decided that the Constitutional Chamber should continue to exercise its powers and duties and consider all appeals submitted to it. This came in accordance with Resolution No. 12 of 2022, in its first article, to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court to continue to exercise its powers and tasks and to consider all appeals submitted to it. As the decision clarified in its second article, this decision shall be implemented from the date of its issuance, and those addressed in its provisions shall implement it.

The House of Representatives met on November 30 regarding the presentation of the draught establishment of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Libya and the statement issued by the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the 7th of December, in which he confirmed the issuance of the law establishing the court, as well as the appeals filed against the unconstitutionality of the establishment of the Constitutional Court. On the sixth of December, the House of Representatives approved by a majority the Constitutional Court Law, after a session that witnessed discussions about the feasibility of establishing the court at the current time, as well as some articles in it, such as the item to challenge the constitutionality of laws, and those who have the right to appeal.

The Head of the High Council of State, Khalid al-Mishri, affirmed the rejection of the law as it is not within the legislative powers of the House of Representatives and that establishing a constitutional court is a constitutional matter. While the UN Secretary-General’s envoy to Libya, Abdullah Batali, also stressed that the path to sustainable peace, stability, and economic prosperity is necessary through the election.

In addition, an international meeting in Tunisia discussed the stability of Libya between the Libyan military institution and measures to disarm the militias of the West, and the UN mission confirmed that Abdullah Batili participated, in cooperation with France, today in the Tunisian capital, in chairing the meeting of the security working group emanating from the Berlin conference, On January 19, 2020, the Berlin I conference on Libya was held with broad international participation to discuss securing an international umbrella to protect the Libyan dialogues about the future of the country. After that, Germany hosted the Berlin II conference on June 23, 2021, to discuss developments in Libya, including support for holding elections and improving the lawless security situation in the country.

While the international meeting in Tunis confirmed the study of the next steps in implementing the ceasefire agreement, reuniting the Libyan military institutions, and securing the elections, According to the UN statement, the meeting was also attended by the co-chairs of the working group, representatives of the United Kingdom, Turkey, Italy, the African Union, and several member states of the Berlin Process for Libya.

The meeting focused on the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including monitoring the ceasefire, disarmament, the withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters, and foreign forces, and the formation of a joint military force. January 15, 2023, added, “They stand united in support of the Libyan authorities and institutions that are ready to move the country towards a better and more stable future by setting their agendas for the benefit of their country and their people.”

Moreover, given the results of the postponement of the election date last year, little progress has been made The Joint Military Committee has demonstrated a level of readiness to use Libyan mechanisms to monitor the ceasefire, but starting the process requires political will and decisive action, and the Joint Military Committee agreed to create the necessary conditions for the UNSMIL ceasefire monitoring unit to begin operations from Sirte in order to boost trust between the two parties and make progress in training local observers.

The meeting came within the framework of the security track sponsored by the United Nations to resolve the Libyan crisis, in addition to a political way. A joint Libyan military committee (5 + 5) is taking place according to an international initiative of five military personnel representing the Libyan army in the east of the country and their counterparts in the military establishment in the west. It was launched after the members of the committee representing the parties to the military conflict signed the cease-fire agreement in Geneva two years ago. It seeks to implement the terms of that agreement, including the removal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from the country, in addition to unifying the military establishment.

The military track, according to the outcomes of the Berlin Conference and the Cairo Declaration, is the most successful path to resolving the Libyan crisis, with the faltering of other political and economic tracks led to a political division between two governments, and the faltering of consensus on a constitutional basis for elections between members of a committee composed of the House of Representatives and what is known as the Consultative Supreme State Council.