By Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 20 February 2017:
The House of Representatives (HoR) members from the south have ended their boycott of the parliament today.
According to a source close to the boycotters, the decision was taken a week ago after two of the 31 southern members – Ali Saedi from Wadi Shatti and Mohamed Ajdeed from Sebha – said that they were opposed to the boycott and would be rejoining the HoR. It was then agreed that all would return but that nothing would be announced until after they had visited their constituencies in the south.
According to the members now, their initial demands have been met. Most importantly, they said, conditions in Fezzan had improved since the power outages that devastated the region. Also, Turkish engineers had been seen at the Obari power plant in a sign that work to complete the project project.
The new station has long been seen as a cure to the electricity shortages that have beset the south.
The members had also complained about a general lack of interest in the south by the largely northern establishment, whether in the HoR, the Beida-based Thinni administration or the Presidency Council and its Government of National Accord in Tripoli. This, though, they suggested had also been remedied.
Last week, the group met with Presidency Council deputy Ahmed Maetig to air their grievances. Stressing the importance of them working together to ensure the development of the entire Fezzan, Maetig said that both the PC and the members needed to cooperate with municipal councils to restart stalled projects in the south.
