By Hadi Fornaji.
Tripoli, 21 February 2013:
The Integrity Commission has disbarred another member of Congress, Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz Milad Hassan Werfalli, one of . . .[restrict]the representatives from Tripoli’s Abu Sleem district. He is the twelfth member of Congress to be disbarred so far, and the second from Abu Sleem. It earlier banned the district’s National Forces Alliance member Maryam Ali Ahmed Farda.
The Commission also announced today, Thursday, that it has disbarred the current Libyan ambassador to Tunisia, Jamal Ahmed Gernazi.
According to the Commission’s Chairman, Hilal Senoussi, Werfalli has been informed of the decision and notice has been sent to the GNC to suspend his membership pending a court ruling finalising the decision.
Anyone who has been disbarred by the Commission can challenge its ruling in the Court of Appeal. A second appeal can be submitted to the High Court. Its judgment is the final say in the matter.
Werfalli is an independent member of Congress but is said to support the Justice and Construction Party.
Other members of Congress to have been disbarred so far are:
- Salma Mohmed Emhemed Ekheil (Zliten, National Forces Alliance)
- Abd-Rabbah Yousef Mikael Bu-Braig (Beida, Independent)
- Abdel-Hamid Dhaw Khanjari (Batin Al-Jabel, Independent)
- Mohamed Ibrahim Makhi Abdulqader (Ghat, Independent)
- Abdulqader Sidi Omar Sidi Sheikh El-Hash (Ghat, Independent)
- Salem Ahmar Alhadi Ali (Bani Walid, Independent)
- Amna Mahmoud Mohamed Takhikh (Bani Walid, Independent)
- Hussein Mohamed Ahmed Al-Ansari (Obari, Independent)
- Ibrahim Mohamed Eddah (Obari, Libyan Party for Liberty & Development)
- Annifishi Abdussalam Abdul Manee Abdussalam (Tarhouna, Indepednent)
Eight have had their appeals rejected by the High Court.
It has yet to be decided if there will be fresh elections to replace those who have been disbarred or whether the run-up candidates in their constituencies in the July elections can take their place.
In the case of the Libyan Ambassador to Tunisia, the Commission had last year issued Decision No 179/2012, stating that Gernazi met the Commission’s standards. Commission spokesman Nasir Bennour now says that it has recently obtained documents indicating that Gernazi was a member of a Qaddafi Revolutionary Committee in 2005 while he was working at the Libyan embassy in Switzerland. As a result it has issued Decision No 165/2013, disbarring him. [/restrict]
