Benghazi, Libya, December 29 (BNA): The Libyan parliament postponed a vote on how to deal with the repercussions of the late national elections after a chaotic session that reflected the political crisis over the fate of the peace process.
The elections were due to take place on Friday as part of a broader campaign to end a decade of chaos and violence in Libya by installing a new president and parliament with national legitimacy, but were postponed after disagreements over the rules, Reuters reported.
Since then, candidates, political factions and politicians have been wrangling over how long the elections should be postponed and whether the interim national unity government headed by Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba can continue in the meantime.
Parliament’s session was the largest since the inauguration of the Dabaiba government in March, and the first since then to bring lawmakers from all of the warring factions into the long-divided room.
The Libyan Electoral Commission had said last week that the elections could not be held, citing what it described as shortcomings in the electoral legislation and judicial appeal process, and suggested postponing the elections to January 24.
A parliamentary commission on elections submitted a report on Monday saying that if the problems were not addressed it would be impossible to hold elections on that date.
The televised session broke up after loud arguments and is expected to meet again on Tuesday to vote on proposals including postponing the elections.
It is also likely that the fate of the national unity government and its leadership will be addressed by Dabaiba, whose role as a presidential candidate has been one of the main causes of the electoral disputes. The parliament’s electoral commission report urged a change of government.
Some argue that Dabaiba should not have been allowed to run for the presidency after he promised when he took office that he would not, and that it is unfair for him to participate in the elections while still prime minister.
UN Special Adviser Stephanie Williams told Reuters on Monday that the main focus should be on the elections and not on the fate of the national unity government. However, she also said there should be “equal opportunity” and no candidate should have an unfair advantage from running while in an official role.
Western powers said last week that they consider the national unity government to be in effect until power is handed over to a new government after quick elections, but did not comment specifically on Dabaiba’s role as prime minister.
Parliament was elected in 2014 in a vote that split Libya between warring eastern and western factions, and the main group of lawmakers sided with the east during the civil war.