Libya’s Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba reacted to SGSR and UNSMIL head Abdoulaye Bathily’s criticism of the House of Representatives and High State Council for delaying the holding of Libya’s elections. His criticism came during a press conference in Tripoli today preparing the road for a roadmap for elections.
The House of Representatives and High State Council have failed to agree on a constitutional basis for elections that would take Libya out of its weak and unstable interim state – a state it has been stuck in since the 2011 elections that ended the 42-year Qaddafi regime.
Aldabaiba said the international community’s expression today of its disappointment in the seriousness of (Libya’s) legislative bodies in (holding) elections, through the UN envoy’s description of their procrastination “that they agreed not to agree”, is consistent with my position from the beginning that “the problem of the elections is the failure of the legislative bodies to find enforceable, fair and at the same time impartial laws”.
Today, he continued, I renew my support for Mr. Bathily’s efforts, and commend the response of the United Nations to my request to raise the level of coordination and support provided in the course of preparation for the elections, and I appeal to Libyans to show strong will to end the transitional stages through fair and impartial elections.
Analysis
Aldabaiba is playing politics like a good politician. The onus to legislate for elections lies squarely on the shoulders of the House of Representatives and High State Council. Aldabiba can accuse the two entities of being disingenuous and for procrastination, but the hard reality is that the longer they agree to disagree the longer he remains in power.
He has refused to give his post up, and used force to do so, to the House of Representatives selected prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, on the pretext that he will only handover after constitutional elections are held.
He can rely on the House of Representatives and High State Council to continue to resist signing their own death sentence by agreeing to elections – while with a straight face he can claim he is strongly in favour of elections.
The ultimate losers are the ordinary Libyan people hijacked and held victim by a corrupt political elite.
