By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 16 April 2016:
Turkey has congratulated Abdulrahman Sewehli on being elected as president of the State Council.
In a . . .[restrict]letter in English to Sewehli, who is addressed as “dear brother”, Turkish ambassador to Libya Ahmet Dogan said the he was confident that “the High Council of State, under Your leadership, will strongly contribute to the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement”. He added that his embassy was ready to help develop cooperation between the State Council and “relevant institutions” in Turkey.
The letter, posted on Sewehli’s Facebook page, has been confirmed by Turkish officials.
Turkey is the first country to publicly acknowledge Sewehli’s election and, as such, officially recognise the State Council’s existence.
The council controversially declared itself in existence eleven days ago despite the fact that the House or Representatives still has not yet voted in favour of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).
Under Sewehli, who was elected president the same day, it has started acting as if it has a legislative function. It has ordered the remaining General National Congress to be isolated and the central bank to cease any dealings with it.
Under the LPA’s proposals, the State Council is supposed to be a largely advisory body. [/restrict]
