UNSMIL praises Libyan Constitutional Committee agreement on holding referendum

CAIRO – 20 January 2020: UNSMIL praised, Wednesday the Constitutional Committee agreement, that was reached during meetings held in Egypt’s Hurghada aiming at reaching a solution for solving the Libyan crises.

The Committee formed by the House of Representatives and the High Council of State agreed on holding a constitutional referendum before the general elections on December 24th.

 UNSMIL thanked the Egyptian authorities for their efforts hosting of the meeting.

The members of both houses agreed to hold a referendum on the constitutional proposal drafted by the Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA), based on Law No. 6 of 2018 amended by Law No. 1 of 2019. They also agreed that Article 6 of Law No. 6 should be amended to adjust the threshold for adopting the constitution.

 The members of the two councils also agreed to resume their discussions in Hurghada from 9 to 11 February, and to invite the High National Elections Commission to attend and participate in their discussion on the implementation of the referendum. The participants asked the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to help activate their decision and provide the necessary support for conducting the referendum once the date is determined.

 The Mission commends the two delegations on their fruitful deliberation within the framework of the Roadmap agreed by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.  The Mission also appreciates the declared commitment of the two delegations to hold national elections on 24 December in response to the overwhelming demand of the Libyan people to renew the democratic legitimacy of their institutions via the ballot box.  The Mission will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders to support electoral process leading to a democratic and stable Libya.

Head of the Egyptian National Committee affiliated with the Libyan crisis praised, Tuesday the Libyan parties’ stances during the constitutional track meeting in Hurghada between the Parliament delegations and the Supreme Council of the Libyan State.

He added in his speech during the opening session of the constitutional track meeting, that all involved parties have a real willingness to reach a solution to solve the crises.

He also stressed the importance of abandoning all differences between the Libyan parties and take advantage of this historic opportunity to agree on a unified Libyan constitutional base that would allow the Libyan national elections to be held on December 24 to end the Libyan crisis.

The constitutional track meetings of Libyan delegations of Parliament and the Supreme Council of State kicked off Tuesday in Egypt’s Hurghada under the auspices of the United Nations aiming to reach the constitutional arrangements leading to the general elections on December 24.

The Libyan constitutional path was launched in Cairo in October 14 under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, to hold consultations between the delegations of Parliament and the High Council of State.

The Libyan parties held talks earlier in Hurghada, Egypt. They called for the acceleration of the opening of air and land transportation lines, in a way that guarantees freedom of movement for citizens in all Libyan cities.