By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 8 March 2016:
The House of Representatives (HoR) once more found itself without a quorum today, preventing it . . .[restrict]yet again from debating the Government of National Accord proposed by prime minister-designate Faiez Serraj.
The lack of a quorum, however, did not stop it from condemning Serraj for attending the Islamic summit in Jakarta which ended today. In a tetchy statement, it claimed that his presence at the summit was a violation of the 2011 Constitutional Declaration. Until it approved UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement, it said, executive powers in Libya were held by the HoR and the interim government of Abdullah Al-Thinni – and the Presidency Council need to remember it. That also went for foreign countries,when inviting Libyan officials. Any agreements entered into by anyone not representing the HoR or the interim government would not be binding on Libya, the HoR statement read.
Serraj was invited to the Jakarta summit by the Indonesian government.
The subject of validity was taken up separately by HoR president Ageela Salah.
In a statement, he said that any HoR vote approving the GNA which took place other than in Tobruk would be invalid. The town was perfectly safe, he insisted, and there was no reason not to hold meetings there.
He was referring to suggestions that HoR members should meet elsewhere to discuss the GNA because they were being intimidated there. Last month, a small group of anti-GNA members threatened the majority who wanted to vote on the proposed GNA and then prevented a vote from taking place. There has been no session since.
Such behaviour, the HoR president said, occurred in parliaments around the world. It did not prevent them from meeting, he said, and there was no reason why the HoR should not reconvene in Tobruk. [/restrict]
