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By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 20 November 2021:
Speaking (some would say electioneering) to a gathering of youth and students in Tripoli last Monday, Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba said:
- Do not leave Libya, we are one and one people, Libya is one.
- We don’t want anyone to ever leave school until after graduation
- The student grant is to help parents.
- Every family must have a healthy home, and we will start giving housing loans and allocating plots of land.
- When we took up office, we found hundreds of thousands who had not received their salaries for years, and now we have finally settled this file.
- Libya has many bounties, but our problem is corruption and administration.
- This is the beginning, and we will continue with everything that is in the interest of the citizens
- The elections are going through a very big problem, and we cannot give up on the demand that the Libyan people choose whom to vote for.
- But they (the House of Representatives – HoR) have put laws that impede this path.
- Elections must be in accordance with a constitutional rule and a law agreed upon by all (this is in line with the High State Council and could be interpreted as an anti-election stance. Agreeing a constitution could take months or years).
- There are many who have collected signatures wishing to nominate me. The decision is yours, and I will announce in due course my position.
The last point has been interpreted as another strong signal that the PM wants to stand in the upcoming 24 December presidential elections. However, he had not resigned his current job three months before the elections. The current rules would have to be amended by the HoR – which currently look very unlikely.
