By Sami Zaptia.
London, 25 April 2016:
The House of Representatives (HoR) led by president Ageela Salah held a discussion, non quorate, meeting . . .[restrict]in Tobruk today morning, the HoR media department reported.
The meeting reviewed where the 6+6 Committee created by Ageela Salah to reach a consensus on holding a vote on the Constitutional Amendment and Government of National Accord (GNA), had reached.
It will be recalled that the majority of members of the HoR, as well as UNSMIL and the international community, have been calling for months for a meeting with a quorum of the House in order to vote and approve the UN-backed and Faiez Serraj-led Presidency Council (PC)/GNA currently based at the Naval Base in Tripoli.
The EU now recognizes the PC/GNA as the legitimate executive government of Libya despite the fact the HoR has not approved it. It still however recognizes the legislative role of the HoR as per the Skhirat December 2015 Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).
However, many of the minority eastern based members deemed to be Federalists and or Khalifa Hafter supporters have been blocking a quorate HoR meeting as a bargaining and leverage tool in order to remove article 8 of the Libyan Political Agreement.
This blocking of the holding of an HoR meeting has been reportedly in the form of, intimidation, coercion and threats. The sign-in book needed to establish a quorum was also removed and the door into the hall was blocked. These actions have led to the majority pro GNA members to threaten to hold an HoR meeting in an alternative city to Tobruk.
Article 8 of the LPA stipulates that upon the approval of the LPA by the HoR, all top state positions such as the Governor of the CBL, the Chairman of the LIA and more pertinently the Commander-in-Chief (Khalifa Hafter) revert to the Presidency Council. This means they are vacated and the PC/GNA is free to make appointments as it pleases, annulling the appointments of the HoR, including that of Hafter.
Khalifa Hafter’s minority but controlling supporters in the HoR, together with the backing of HoR president Salah, have been trying to ensure he remains Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army during the new PC/GNA era. [/restrict]
