Libya’s House of Representatives has an “alternative plan” if the Government of National Unity fails to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24, House Speaker Aguila Saleh told the press on Saturday.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Saleh reiterated his support for the elections, but emphasized that the parliament has a “vision for unification of state institutions” if the elections did not take place.
Saleh blamed “negative foreign interference” for the failure of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) to reach an agreement on the elections’ constitutional basis. He also accused “ideological groups” inside the LPDF of seeking their own interests at the expense of the UN-sponsored peace roadmap.
Th House Speaker denounced the decision of the U.N. Mission in Libya to include the High Council of State (HCS) on electoral law consultations, adding that the HCS could only have an advisory role but the House would have the sole right to issue laws as the country’s legislative authority.
When asked about the delay in deciding on sovereign positions, Saleh accused the HCS of obstructing any agreement on this issue.
“The [HCS] members know that when this phase ends, they will be out of the scene, and there will be no such thing as the High Council of State when a new executive authority is elected,” he said.
“The legislative authority is known as the House of Representatives… and the executive authority is the government, so [HCS members] will be out of the scene,” Saleh added.