Egyptian city hosts Libyan constitutional talks

Soldiers loyal to Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar stand in formation during Independence Day celebrations in Benghazi, Libya December 24, 2020. (REUTERS)
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  • The mission stated that the roadmap, drawn up in Tunisia last November, was the first critical step to renew the political legitimacy of Libyan institutions

CAIRO: The southern Egyptian city of Hurghada is set to host three days of meetings to discuss Libya’s constitutional path with the Libyan House of Representatives and the State Council, sponsored by the country’s UN Support Mission.

The meetings will discuss ways to reach an agreement between the two chambers on a project to create a constitutional and legal base, according to which the December elections will be held.

A committee of 30 members split equally between the House of Representatives and the State Council will submit periodic reports to the Presidency of the Council, provided that it submits a final report within 40 days or less.

They will discuss constitutional regulation mechanisms for this year’s elections.

The meetings follow the legal committee of the Libyan Forum for Political Dialogue presenting their recommendations regarding the constitutional basis for the elections. The virtual meeting was conducted under the auspices of the UN.

The UN Support Mission in Libya said that over recent months, several meetings were held to discuss the roadmap that ultimately achieves a comprehensive settlement of the Libyan crisis.

The mission stated that the roadmap, drawn up in Tunisia last November, was the first critical step to renew the political legitimacy of Libyan institutions and restore the country’s sovereignty through holding national elections on Dec. 24.

It added that the participants in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum also agreed on clear steps leading to the elections.

The elections will be held on an agreed constitutional base, and the forum will set a reasonable timeframe for politicians and the relevant institutions to prepare for the event, with sufficient planning for possible failures.

Forum participants, during their recent sessions in Geneva, agreed on the need to restructure the executive authority that governs Libya in the pre-election period, provided that the role of the new unified government is to provide the necessary conditions for holding elections, launching national reconciliation, fighting corruption and restoring public services.

Cairo hosted a meeting between Oct. 11 and 13 between the delegations of parliament and the State Council during which constitutional issues were discussed.