By Libya Herald reporters.
Benghazi, 26 March 2016:
House of Representatives president Ageela Saleh has called on its members to turn up on . . .[restrict]Monday and Tuesday to debate the proposed Government of National Accord and the constitutional amendment.
In a statement reported today by the Beida-based LANA, Saleh appeared to deplore the fact that the HoR has so far lacked a quorum that would enable it to consider and vote on the two issues.
It has been the absence of Saleh himself on various foreign trips, most recently to the UAE, that has been one of the reasons that a debate has not yet been held. He has insisted that no session could be held without his presence.
It remains uncertain that enough representatives are likely to go to Tobruk. As long ago as January, elected members who had boycotted the parliament turned up for the expected deliberations over the Libyan Political Agreement signed in Skirhat. But the debate never took place. Moreover, one of the former boycotters, the prominent Misratan businessman Mohamed Raied, was kidnapped briefly by a Tobruk family demanding better treatment for imprisoned relatives in Misrata.
Saleh’s call may reflect a growing fear that even though its political role is enshrined in the Skirhat deal, unless it exercises in the near future, its power to approve the GNA led by Faiez Serraj, it will find itself sidelined.
Throughout the parliamentary hiatus, the HoR-appointed administration of Abdullah Thinni has carried on as if it is likely to remain the legitimate government. There have been no public pronouncements on how it might work to hand over what limited power it exercises to the GNA, as and when it is approved by parliament. [/restrict]
