Holding parliamentary elections 30 days after the 24 December 2021 presidential elections – some reflections

Sami Zaptia

Reacting to his own parliament, House of Representatives member for Tarhuna, Abu Bakr Ahmed Said, said it is important that parliamentary and presidential elections be held simultaneously – not thirty days apart as prescribed by the election law issued by the HoR on 3 October.

The HoR member said:

• The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum’s (LPDF) Road Map (agreed in Geneva in November 2020) states that the elections are held simultaneously, that is on one day (parliamentary and presidential), and any retreat from this commitment will give justification to the other parties to renege on their promises and may hinder the completion of the elections on their scheduled date of 24 December 2021.

• Our focus today should be on the legislative authority and its re-election after it spent more than 6 years in power, not the other way around, and this is an important priority for the success of the new executive authority.

• Holding legislative elections ensures the end of the role of the High State Council and the end of the stage of political division. The continuation of the House of Representatives after next December will justify the continuation of the division and the survival of the High State Council as a parallel body to the legislative authority.

• The election of a new legislative authority will contribute to the unification of the affiliated institutions (the Central Bank of Libya, the Audit Bureau, the Administrative Control Authority, the Anti-Corruption Authority) and the assignment of new administrations to them, and this step is very important to support the next president and his government and state institutions to implement their obligations.

• In the event that the competition for the presidential elections is decided in the first round – before which authority will the elected president swear the constitutional oath?

• Holding presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time helps reduce financial spending on elections and saves a lot of time and effort.

He concluded: ‘‘No to the extension of parliament’s term beyond the 24 December 2021, and yes to the parliamentary and presidential elections.’’

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