Libya parliament debates election chaos, refuses to fix date for delayed polls

Parliament is soon expected to discuss the fate of the interim Government of National Unity and PM Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah. (File/AFP)

• Vote fell apart after failure among rival factions, political entities and candidates to agree on basic electoral rules
• Electoral commission initially disqualified 25 of the 98 candidates who had registered but was not able to agree on final list

TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI: Libya’s eastern-based parliament met on Monday to discuss what to do about a presidential election that was postponed last week putting the fate of the interim government and a wider peace process in doubt.
However, the parliament refused to fix a date for another presidential election, leaving question marks over the fate of the poll.
The vote, set for Friday, was meant to be the culmination of United Nations-led efforts to drag Libya out of a decade of conflict since a 2011 revolt. But it was derailed by bitter arguments over divisive candidates and a disputed legal framework.
On Monday the parliamentary committee charged with overseeing the election presented a report saying it would be risky to set a new date at this stage.
That was a direct rebuff to the High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) which had suggested holding the vote on January 24.
The parliamentary committee is part of an assembly based in eastern Libya since 2014, reflecting the country’s deep divisions.
The committee recommended laying out “a new, realistic and applicable roadmap, with defined stages, rather than fixing new dates and repeating the same errors.”
The report, read to members of parliament by committee president Al-Haid Al-Sghayer, also suggested setting up a committee to draft a new constitution to replace the one scrapped by dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 1969.
It also called for a reshuffle of the interim government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah, whose mandate was meant to end with Friday’s elections.
The parliament has yet to debate the proposals.
The electoral commission initially disqualified 25 of the 98 candidates who had registered but was not able to agree on a final list with the judiciary and parliament amid a messy appeals process.
Dbeibah heads a unity administration based in the capital Tripoli, in the country’s west, and which was tasked with leading the North African country to the elections.
The vote, after a year of relative calm, was to have been Libya’s first ever direct presidential ballot.
But months of disputes finally saw the vote postponed just two days before it was to take place, when the committee overseeing the election declared holding it impossible on the scheduled date.
The electoral commission has yet to announce a finalized list of candidates for the presidential poll. Its work was hobbled by court cases against the bids of several divisive figures.
The electoral commission last week proposed a new Jan. 24 election date but parliament may consider a longer delay to tackle some of the problems that prevented Friday’s vote taking place, legislators say.
Shortly before Monday’s session, UN envoy Stephanie Williams urged the parliament “to live up to its national responsibilities” and urgently address recommendations from HNEC “in order to push the electoral process forward.”
In a joint statement on Friday, five western nations had called for a new electoral timeline to be put in place as soon as possible.
The US, France, Britain, Germany and Italy also said the current unity government should stay in place until election results are announced.
(With AFP and Reuters)