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Libyan political elite wants to make elections impossible, says analyst

Libyan political elite wants to make elections impossible, says analyst

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.