By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 7 October 2015:
The president of the House of Representatives has said that Monday’s vote by the . . .[restrict]parliament to extend it mandate beyond 20 October does not undermine the Libya Dialogue or weaken the HoR’s resolve to make it work.
In a letter to UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon justifying the move, Ageela Salah Gwaider said that the decision was not inconsistent with the terms of the Draft as initialed by the HoR on 11 July. It also envisages the HoR’s mandate being extended by an amendment to the 2011 Constitutional Declaration.
Salah Gwaider also said that the decision was not aimed as excluding those who partnered with the HoR in the Dialogue. Indeed, he added, it been made to protect the process and prevent any other outcome from occurring – seen as a reference to plans by the head of the armed forces, Khalifa Hafter to launch a military council, headed by himself, to run Libya after 20 October.
Declaring that the HoR respected the calls made at the Libya Dialogue gathering in New York last week when foreign ministers from around the world pressed Libya to accept the latest Draft, he urged Leon to ensure that the process produced a government of national accord as soon as possible. [/restrict]
With input from Saber Ayyub in Tripoli
