Libya’s Parliament Postpones Legislative Election to January

Libya’s Parliament (the House of Representatives,HoR)  postponed late yesterday, Tuesday, the legislative elections to January 2022 instead of the scheduled appointment on December 24 this year.

However, the presidential elections will run on December 24 as it was defined earlier.

Abdullah Belhaq, a spokesman for Libya’s Parliament, said that the council voted the bill of parliamentarian elections days ago, but he did not reveal the number of lawmakers who voted in favor of the draft.

Belhaq added that passing the bill of parliamentarian and presidential elections, the HoR honored its tasks related to ratifying the bills regulating the next elections in December.

On the other hand, the Supreme Council of State (SCS) in Libya has rejected the law of legislative elections passed by the HoR.

Mohamed Abdel Nasser, a spokesman for the SCS, said that passing that law is considered a violation of the political accord included in the Constitutional Declaration.

In the same context, Libyan media sources in the eastern and western parts of the country have indicated that authorities started actually collecting foreign fighters ahead of deporting them from the country ahead of the elections scheduled on December 24.

A military source, that was depicted as “prominent”, said that the Libyan Armed Forces have started carrying out recommendations of the 5+5 Committee to expel the foreign fighters of Libya in coordination with countries having active role in the Libyan file.

“ Al Sharq”, a Libyan daily newspaper, has quoted different military sources in the eastern and western parts of the country, as saying that collecting of the foreign fighters paves the way to deport them outside Libya.

The newspaper pointed out the Syrian fighters had been collected at “Yarmouk”  Camp, (known also as the “22Armored Regiment”)  which was deployed to “Al Hadhba” District in Tripoli, the capital city of Libya.

The foreign fighters will be transferred later to Mitiga International Airport but sources did identify their next destination.

The sources affirmed that expelling the foreign fighters from Libya will be implemented gradually to avoid any attacks that benefit from the withdrawal of these fighters.

According to the sources, some five thousand Syrian fighters were grouped and deported but another group is expected to remain at Al-Watiya Air Base until holding the elections or shortly ahead of these elections.

Also, the Foreign Committee of the US Senate has submitted a bill to secure stability in Libya. 385 Congressmen voted in favor of this bill, but 35 others voted against it, meanwhile, 12 Congressmen absented. According to that bill, sanctions will be imposed on people who are tangled in violence in Libya.

The bill urges US President Joe Biden to take punitive measurements against anybody who commits abuses of human rights, steal assets, or natural resources of the Libyan state.