Elected officials in Libya have called for a new constitution to be approved before national elections can be held. This comes after a recent resolution between the country’s opposing factions that resulted in a new election date for the country, the first in years.
These rival factions at UN-led talks in Tunisia had agreed to hold national elections on December 24, 2021, the United Nations said, once again signalling hope for an end to a brutal decade-old conflict that has kept the country stagnant. Their decision came on the fifth day of political talks in Tunisia, involving 75 delegates from existing state bodies and groups from across Libya’s political and social spectrum.
Reacting to the news, Bachir al-Haouch, a member of the High Council of State, the equivalent of a senate in Libya, stated that while the proposed election is a welcome decision, it is also important to “focus on the constitution.” Going further, the lawmaker, while speaking to reporters, made it known that the space between the announcement and the upcoming elections provides ample time to prepare the constitution, place it “before the Libyan people,” and then wait for “them to approve or reject” it.
Echoing al-Haouch’s sentiments, Abdelmonem al-Sherif, a member of the body responsible for drafting the new constitution, reiterated that the dialogue done so far would be futile if it did not catalyse constitutional reform that ticks the boxes of Libyans across the board. Hinting at a new constitution in the coming months leading up to the polls, al-Sherif said, “The United Nations mission and international parties do not have the right to reject this project.”
A Divided Nation Finds Its Way Back
Libya has been in chaos since 2011 (the last time its constitution was reviewed) and divided since 2014 between rival factions in east and west, with major institutions also split or controlled by armed groups. The internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) holds power in the capital Tripoli, while Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) holds sway in the east.
