The new political road map being studied by Libya’s House of Representatives is a “distraction” created by the political elites in the country who wants to waste time and make elections impossible, a Libyan analyst said.
Tarek Megerisi, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Italian news agency Nova on Friday that even though the situation in the country is relatively calm, there is a potential threat that “a rival government could come forward and try to exploit Tripoli-affiliated militias to help oust [Prime Minister Abdul Hamid] Dbeibeh”.
Megerisi explained that it is not clear how things will go for the new constitution. He pointed out that one of the options is to launch a constitutional referendum in the middle of the year – as proposed by Chairman of the High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri – or draft a new constitution from scratch – as demanded by House Speaker Aguila Saleh.
“Of course, the constitution must be agreed upon, but Saleh’s plan to achieve this new, long process is superficial and selfish, while Al-Mishri is arrogantly pressing for a referendum on the current constitution,” Megerisi stressed.