By Ahmed Elumami.
Tripoli, 16 July 2013:
The Constitutional Drafting Committee election law was today approved by the General National Congress (GNC), after days . . .[restrict]of debate.
“There was heated controversy on Articles 5 and 6 of the law,” Tobruk Congressman Ibrahim Gharyani told the Libya Herald. “Article 5 relates to the representation of ethnic groups in society, and Article 6 relates to which electoral system to use,” he explained.
Women were granted six seats out of 60, Gharyani said, fewer than the 15 they had demanded. The individual electoral system was chosen, with 124 out of 172 Congress members who attended the sitting voted in favour.
The High Election Commission will now begin work on the implementation of the election law, said Gharyani.
It will also receive applications for the 60-Committee, he said, adding that anyone could apply, as long as they met certain criteria. Prospective candidates must be Libyan, aged over 25, and have graduated from at least secondary school.
“The most important criteria that candidates should meet is not to be a member of any military or security institution,” Gharyani said. [/restrict]