Libya parliament speaker calls for unified govt to hold elections

Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh called for the formation of a unified government to prepare Libya for long-delayed elections, the parliament’s spokesman Abdullah Blehaq said Wednesday.

Saleh made the request during a meeting with British Ambassador Caroline Hurndall in the eastern city of al-Qubah.

Talks focused on a host of issues, including efforts aimed at holding presidential and parliamentary elections.

Libya’s 6+6 Joint Committee, jointly formed by the East Libya-based parliament and Tripoli-based High Council to prepare electoral laws, reached an agreement last week during a meeting in Morocco to start finalizing election laws to hold the polls.

Committee spokesman Omar Abu Buleifa said it was agreed that legislative power will consist of two chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate. He cited progress on related issues such as the number of parliamentary seats and their distribution, women’s representation and dealing with election violations.

Legislative and presidential elections will be held simultaneously, ensuring a comprehensive electoral procedure, added Abu Buleifa.

Libya has been locked in a political stalemate since late 2021 when a scheduled election was canceled because of disputes over the rules and the eastern-based parliament, the House of Representatives, withdrew support from the U.N.-recognized interim government.

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

Libya has been torn by civil war and instability since the ouster of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.