Libyan parties agree to hold constitutional referendum

Tripoli, Jan 21 (IANS) The Constitutional Committee comprising Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives and the Tripoli-based High Council of State have agreed to hold a constitutional referendum ahead of the elections later this year, according to the UNOn Tuesday and Wednesday, the Constitutional Committee held a meeting in the Egyptian city of Hurghada, and "agreed on holding a constitutional referendum before the general elections on December 24", Xinhua news agency quoted the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) as saying on Wednesday.The UN body said that the members of the two councils have agreed to resume their discussions in Hurghada from February 9-11, and to invite the High National Elections Commission to participate in the discussion on the implementation of the referendum.During the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum held in November 2020 in Tunisia, 75 Libyans representing the social and political spectrum of Libya discussed a political roadmap to achieve lasting peace in the war-torn country and agreed to hold general elections on December 24, 2021.Libya plunged into chaos after the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's government in 2011, witnessing prolonged conflict between the eastern-based Khalifa Haftar-led Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-recognised Government of National Accord in the country's west.On October 23, 2020, the Libyan delegations to the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva signed a UN-sponsored permanent ceasefire agreement.the following month, the Joint Military Commission agreed on terms for the ceasefire implementation in the country, including the return of forces back to their camps and the withdrawal of foreign forces from conflict lines.The delegations also agreed to exchange all prisoners, remove landmines in cooperation with the UN teams and the General Intelligence Service, and combat hate speech.
--IANS ksk/