Libyan House of Representatives (مجلس النواب الليبي)
Introduction
On the 22nd of May 2014 the GNC announced their decision to hold parliamentary
elections on the 25th of June 2014. Although this hasty decision came after the
people's call for the GNC to step down in February 2014, the short period allowed
would not be sufficient enough to prepare for the elections, the Libyans said.
The same mistake was made in 2012 when hundreds of political parties were quickly
formed while the Libyans were left blasting each other in the background, with
rockets and missiles continue to fall on civilian homes to this day (July 2014).
The result was that Libya's first elections of the 7th of July 2012 resulted
in a failed GNC, with the media, as usual, hailing the failure a "success",
despite the complicated electoral system, and in spite of the number of violations
committed including barring Berber-dominated
Constituency 8 from taking part in party-election.
Such parties and failures may thus be the reason for many Libyans to boycott
the elections of the House of Representatives, leading to low turnout - a mere 14%
of Libyans voted for the HoR. Hence, it was no longer
possible to mask the repeated failures of the elected governments to represent
the people of Libya, nor to suppress the independent reports documenting the
grand conspiracy to destabilise Libya - the conspiracy it took 2 years for Libya's
chief of the Special Forces to discover, and 3 years for Libya's Prime Minister
(Mr. Althni) to attribute to an "anonymous
enemy" [1].
What Is "House of Representatives"?
The House of Representatives (HoR), also known as
the "Council of Representatives" (CoR), or the Libyan Parliament,
is a temporary, transitional council elected to govern the country until a
constitution is written, as defined by the draft
constitution committee [2]: السلطة التشريعية المؤقتة للدولة للمرحلة الانتقالية
إلى حين نفاذ الدستور
After the people's call for the GNC to step down (after its term of office
expired in February 2012 without achieving any of the tasks it was elected to
do), the GNC issued another amendment to the constitutional declaration, namely
Amendment 7, in which it decided to replace
itself by a new elected body called مجلس النواب, meaning "The Council of Representatives",
which is widely translated as "The House of Representatives".
According to CD Amendment 7:
The Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) will prepare the draft constitution.
Decisions within the CDA shall be made by a majority of two thirds
+ 1.
The CDA shall draft and approve the constitution in no more than 120 days from
holding its first meeting.
The HoR shall issue the law of general elections based
on the constitution within 30 days from the issuance of the
constitution.
The general elections shall be held within 120 days
from the date of issuance of the relevant laws.
The above two conditions mean that the life of the HoR is 150 days (120 +
30) from the issuance of the
final constitution.
The HNEC shall be responsible for organising the general
elections according to the relevant regulations.
The House of Representatives is
made of 200 members representing most of the towns and cities of Libya, except
some towns like Berber Jado and Zuwarah, who boycotted the elections due to
constitutional marginalisation, if not sponsored persecution. One hundred and
sixty eight (168) seats were allocated to men, leaving thirty two (32) seats
for women [3]. In
total only 188 members were elected on the 25th of June 2014, with 12 seats
remaining undecided due to boycott and violence erupting in some polling stations.
Parliament Headquarters
Tibesti Hotel, Benghazi.
Head of administration: Faraj Najem.
Date of opening: 4th of August 2014.
Initially it was reported that the parliament will convene from the Tourist Village
in Garyounis, Benghazi.
But later it was revealed that Tibesti Hotel was modified
to temporarily house the House of Representatives.
Given the current level of "effected" terrorism in Benghazi,
and given the fact that Libya still is without a police force and without an
army, the strange decision to insist on the Benghazi location could
jeopardize the lives of the elected council members, even though some critics
said the lives of the HoR members are no better than the lives
of the people of Benghazi. Tibesti hotel was a target of a number of terrorist
attacks in the past few years; not to say that the GNC had repeatedly failed
to protect its headquarters in Tripoli, resulting in laws being passed by the
gun.
On the 4th of August 2014, the House of Representatives held its handover
ceremony in Tobruk’s Dar Assalam Hotel (فندق دار السلام). Only the first deputy
president of the GNC attended the ceremony, as well as the Justice Minister.
The HoR still is in Tobruk ten days later.
Handover Ceremony
According to Decree 56 of 2014, issued by the GNC on the 22nd of July 2014,
the GNC will handover power to the HoR on Monday the 4th of August 2014. For
unknown reason the location and the exact time of the handover ceremony have
not been revealed. Decree 56/2014 states that the oldest member of the HoR will
chair the opening session.
Head of Handover Committee: Rasmi Abourwein (رسمي ابوروين).
*
The percentage is calculated in relation to the estimated number of Libyans (4.5
million). The total number of Libyans is said to be 6 million (including 1.5
million immigrants). This means that only 14% of Libyans have voted for the parliament;
with 86% either refusing to vote, being
under age, boycotting the elections, unable
to register due to complicated ID bureaucracy imposed by the failed system, or
not believing in elections altogether.
Number of Voters Abroad:
Female
Male
Total
Number of Voters
1,147
2,669
3,816
Less than 1% (or 0.19%) of Libyans
abroad.
The number of registered voters abroad:
Country
City
Reg.
G.
Age
M.
F.
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60+
Canada
Ottawa
489
324
165
104
146
158
74
7
Canada
Calgary
281
181
100
54
101
85
37
4
Canada
Toronto
233
143
90
54
60
64
48
7
Egypt
Alexandria
140
107
33
28
48
36
14
14
Egypt
Cairo
938
674
264
187
315
268
99
69
Germany
Berlin
333
251
82
67
134
85
28
19
Germany
Bonn
445
283
162
72
178
130
47
18
Jordan
Amman
454
330
124
156
113
114
46
25
Ireland
Dublin
301
208
93
90
72
91
44
4
Italy
Rome
379
277
102
86
116
87
58
32
Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
750
564
186
156
299
224
62
9
Qatar
Doha
314
199
115
53
74
99
75
13
Tunisia
Tunis
393
291
102
94
98
94
70
37
Turkey
Istanbul
366
265
101
75
113
120
34
24
UAE
Dubai
612
384
228
132
111
176
141
52
UK
London
1001
661
340
231
292
274
142
62
UK
Manchester
1390
946
444
260
421
464
204
41
USA
Washington DC
571
370
201
106
238
127
63
37
USA
Denver
228
146
82
30
99
69
20
10
USA
Houston
130
84
46
23
43
36
15
13
USA
Los Angeles
180
117
63
46
47
39
27
21
USA
Chicago
159
105
54
34
61
41
15
8
*
Reg: Registered
G: Gender
M: Male
F: Female
Note:
Despite the fact that there are
over one million Libyan refugees in Tunisia and Egypt (exiled as a direct result
of the UN bombing campaign in 2011) the above confirmed number of voters
from Egypt and Tunisia (merely 938
and 393 voters respectively) does not make sense. Does this mean that the majority
of Libyans abroad were deprived from taking part in this democratic
chaos simply because of their political orientation?
According to the website of the HNEC, 1743 candidate applications were received
by the final day of registration (20th of May 2014) from all the main constituencies
and from most of the sub-constituencies except from Jado and Zuwarah - the Berber
areas that were barred by the NTC from taking part in party elections during
the previous elections of the July 2012 and who are now boycotting the elections
for constitutional marginalisation.
Total number of candidates per constituency, with different columns for men and
women. Download this table
Member Distribution Across 13 Constituencies:
HNEC map showing the distribution of parliament members across Libya's 13 constituencies.(Click for a larger map.)
References
[1]: The Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah Althni revealed in his statement of the 5th of June
2014 that destroying Libya's security infrastructure was a mistake, and that
Libya is facing an "anonymous enemy" which must be dealt with not by deploying more weapons and soldiers
but by building a "strong security service"
(www.pm.gov.ly/news/رئيس-الحكومة-المؤقتة-المكلف-الحكومة-ستقدم-كل-الدعم-لبنغازي-حتى-تثبت-وتقاوم-الخارجين-عن-القانون.html).]
Is there a relation between the attacks on Tripoli airport
and the House of Representatives results?
Many analysts say the the current clashes (still raging between the so-called
"Islamist-led militias" and the so-called "liberal
Zintani" brigades)
are directly related to the delay in announcing the election results; with
one source specifically stating that the failure of the Islamist parties in the
HoR elections may be behind the current violence. The source [1] says the Islamist
parties are afraid the new parliament will support Haftar's war against militant
islamists, and, according to another source [2], may also revoke the controversial
"Political Isolation Law".
According to the Huffington Post, "fewer than 25 of the 200-member
parliament are Muslim Brotherhood or allied with the group" [2]; and
that Misrata is the stronghold of Islamist militias supported by two GNC blocs:
the "Muslim
Brotherhood" and the "Loyalty
to Martyrs", who had previously used the gun to pass the controversial "Political
Isolation Law" [2]. However, according to a Foreign
Policy report, "In their recent discussions with European diplomats,Muslim
Brotherhood leaders have said that they will only end their assault on the airport
once Haftar ends his military operations" [1].
Therefore it does not
come as a surprise that the GNC-created LROR is
the main force currently battling Zintani brigades in and around Tripoli airport,
simply because the Zintani
Qaaqaa and Sawaiq brigades were among the first to declare their support
for Haftar's war against militant islamists in Benghazi. The two-week delay in
handing over power to the House of Representatives, the Huffington report says, "could give the Misrata militia a chance
to oust the Zintan militia from the airport" [2]. As of today
(the 2nd of August 2014) the raging battle is spreading to other areas
surrounding the airport including Ben Ghashir, Ain Zara and Janzur, with
innocent women and children paying the usual price for the fire of some
men - previously known as "unarmed civilians" by the UN.
Election Results: the council of the un-represented
With only 630,000 Libyans (out of 4.5 million Libyans) turning up for the
House of Representatives elections on the 25th of June 2014, the poor turnout
of around 14%
can hardly be considered representative
of Libya [3]. If the unconfirmed reports of only
300,000 Libyans have voted for the House of Representatives are true, then the
turnout
is less than 7%. Moreover, most of the winners
were elected with merely a few hundred votes each, while some winners from big
cities (like Tripoli and Benghazi) have managed to secure a few thousand votes
each. See HoR
Members for
the exact votes won by each candidate.
Of course, the election committee [4] announced the
news in a way to make it sound success, by working out the percentage of turnout
in relation to the registered voters (1.5 million people), giving
a misleading percentage of 45%; hence confirming the common belief that "politics"
equates to "deceit". In some western countries a minimum must
be reached before legally endorsing the results. For example, in 2010 no English
party was able to secure the required majority in the House of Commons, resulting
in what is called a "hung parliament".
Fraudulent Results: (إلغاء نتيجة 23 محطة
اقتراع بسبب وقوع أعمال غير قانونية )
4 July 2014:
After checking results from 120 polling stations the HNEC has
cancelled the results of 23 polling stations due to illegal procedures that the
HNEC believes could have affected the results. A press conference was held on
the 6th of July 2014, in which the HNEC announced some preliminary results and
discussed the received complaints [5].
Exclusion of Candidates After Announcing The results: (استبعاد مرشحين طبقا
لقرار هيئة تولي المناصب العامة )
Adding to the long list of controversies shrouding Libyan politics with confusion,
forty one candidates including four winners were excluded by the HNEC after
voting had ended and after the preliminary results were announced. Many Libyans
responded with "disbelief" and stated that if any
of these candidates had anything to do with the ousted regime, then such evidence
should have been presented long before voting began, while the election committee
[8] defended its decision by saying there was not enough time allowed to check
the list of candidates before the elections started (وقد اتخذ هذا الإجراء بسبب
محدودية الفترة الزمنية للعملية الانتخابية ).
Financial Reports
The HNEC has published a list of 350 candidates who had failed to provide
the required "financial report" (showing all the expenditure relating
to the election campaign). According to Articles 15 and 37 of the Election Law
every candidate has 15 days from the election day to provide the report (regardless
of the results), otherwise he or she will face either prison sentence or 5000
dinars fine.
The HNEC has announced that it will do all it can to make sure elections will
be held to fill the remaining 12 vacant seats. These seats are for representatives
from the following areas:
Zuwarah (زوارة) - one seat
Jado (جادو) - one seat
Jmail (الجميل) - one seat
Regdalin - Zulthen (رقدالين زلطن) - one seat
Kufra (الكفرة) - three seats
Darna (درنة) - four seats
Women: 13th constituency - one shared seat (مقعد للنساء مشترك
في عدد من الدوائر الفرعية في الدائرة الانتخابية الثالثة عشر).
Preliminary Results: (26th, 27th, 28th, 29th of June and 6th of July)
The HNEC initially said the final results will be released on the 20th of
July 2014 [6].
On the 20th of July 2014 the HNEC said the
results will be announced on the 21st
of July 2014 [7].
The following are the final results
for 188 seats announced on the 21st of July 2014.
The remaining
12 seats will remain vacant for the time being.
The Berbers of Zuwarah have boycotted the elections
owing to marginalisation by the constitutional declaration and
unrepresentation by the 60 committee.
190
Jado
The Berbers of Jado have boycotted the elections
owing to marginalisation by the constitutional declaration and
unrepresentation by the 60 committee.
191
Regdalin + Zulthen
192
Zuwarah + Surman + Jmail + Regdalin + Zulthen: undecided
one woman seat for all the five areas.
193
Jmail
All 8 polling stations were attacked by a group of
armed men, who stole all ballot boxes.
194
Darna
17 polling stations closed owing to deteriorating
security and increased terrorism.
195
Darna
"
196
Darna
"
197
Darna
"
198
Kufra
Tebu
199
Kufra
Tebu
200
Kufra
Tebu
Disallowed Winners:
Four winners were initially excluded by the HNEC because of
the Political Isolation law. Three of these have appealed and
won their appeal, and only one winning candidate was excluded,
namely Mr. Ibrahim Salem (from Sirte), who was replaced by Abubaker
Mohammed. Other members (as shown below) were excluded as a result
of court orders due to reported election fraud or court-ordered
recounts. In total 41 candidates were affected by the Isolation
Law, leading to many analysts to question why the HNEC did not
check all the candidates before the election day.
Ibrahim Muftah Hamed Salem
Excluded because of Isolation Law. The only winning
member to be ejected because of the Isolation Law.
Votes: 929
Sirte
Muhammed Othman Ali Alshamakhi
Removed as a result of court-ordered recounts.
Replaced by: Kamal Hsein Alshalbi
Votes: 580
Khoms City
Abdulwahid Emar 'Aashour Alqadi
Removed due to reported electoral fraud. Replaced
by: Bashir Saad Lahmer
Votes: 1118
Janzur
Abdulaghani Hasan Milad Altoumi
Removed as a result of court-ordered recounts.
Replaced by: Rajav Meftah Ommar
Votes:639
Wadi Ashathi
Hujrah Abdulsalam Eskenda
Removed because the court of appeal has annulled
her votes. She was replaced by: Fatima Abdulsalam Alsawiaei
Mr. Agila Saleh Esa Egwaider
عقيلة صالح عيسى اقويدر - عضو البرلمان عن دائرة القبة
Mr. Agila Egwaider is the Council member representing
the town of Qubah (القبة) – a small town situated between Cyrene and Darna in
Cyrenaica. He was voted the President of the House of Representatives on the
4th of August 2014, after securing 77 votes out of 158 votes. In last month's
House of Representatives elections Mr. Agila Egwaider won 913
votes, which means he had been elected by less than a thousand people out
4.5 million Libyans.
The absent 30 members who did not attend the first meeting were reported by
the Libyan media to have been mostly Islamist members who boycotted the handover
ceremony in Tobruk. According to the president of the GNC the handover ceremony
should have been held in the capital Tripoli, while according to the House of
Representatives the Constitutional Declaration does not say anything about where
the HoR should meet. All in all, this may well signal the dreaded possibility
of having two governments in Libya: one in Cyrenaica (battling Islamist radicals
in Benghazi) and another in Tripolitania (battling liberals in Tripoli)!
Many Libyans were told that the only way for Libya to get back on its amputated
feet is to elect a new parliament to replace the failed GNC; but the state
of the country inherited from the NTC, like prime minister el-Keib had said
in 2012, may be beyond repair; after having been tragically bombed by the UN
back to the stone age.
كلمة عقيلة صالح في اجتماع القمة العربية
The President of The House of Representatives:
First Round Results: (نتائج الجولة الأولى)
Second Round Results: (نتائج الجولة الثانية)
First Deputy President: (النائب الأول لرئيس مجلس النواب)
Emhamed Ali Belqasem Sh'aib
امحمد علي بلقاسم شعيب
Votes:88 (٨٨)
عضو البرلمان عن دائرة الزاوية
Tripolitania
Zawiya's member at the House of Representatives had been voted to the council
by 1350
people from the town of Zawiya. He was voted the First Deputy President
by the members of the House of Representatives after securing 88 votes in the
second round. During the first round he secured 56 votes, while Ali Als'aidi
Alqaidi (علي السعيدي سعد القائدي) secured 47 votes.
النائب الأول لرئيس مجلس النواب
امحمد شعيب يقدم استقالته
Mr. Emhamed Ali Sh'aib has resigned on the 17th
of December 2017 [1]. According to Alwasat [2] Mr. Sh'aib has been trying
to resign for the past two years, but his attempts were rejected by those he
respected. However, personal reasons had finally forced him to resign. The
first deputy was replaced by Mr. Fawzi Annweiry.
Fawzi Annweiry
النائب الأول لرئيس مجلس
النواب، فوزي النويري
Second Deputy President:النائب الثاني لرئيس مجلس النواب)
Ehmid Hamed Ali Houma
احميد حمد علي حومه
Votes: 102 (١٠٢)
عضو البرلمان عن دائرة تمسة+مجدول+ام زوير+تربو
Fezzan
Ehmid Hamed Ali Houma is the House of Representatives member for the areas:
Tmassah, Majdoul, Um-Zweir and Terbu. He was voted to the HoR by 464
people. Mr. Houma was voted the Second Deputy President of the Council
of Representatives by 102 HoR members, on the 5th of August 2014.
This means that the President of the House of Representatives and his First
and Second Deputies represent all the three regions of Libya - Cyrenaica, Tripolitania
and Fezzan respectively.
Government
According to the PMO's website [1], 110 members out of the 112 present members
have voted to approve the government proposed by Mr. Abdullah Althni. The emergency,
transitional government consists of caretaker Prime Minister Abdullah Althni,
three PM assistants, nine named ministers, and one unnamed minister (surprisingly
again, the defence minister, who is listed as "vacant"). The following
are the ministers included in the transitional government:
Prime Minister: Abdullah Althni
Deputy Prime Minister for Security: Almahdi Allabad
Deputy Prime Minister for Services: Abulsalam Albadri
Deputy Prime Minister for (لشؤون الهيئات): Abdulrahman Alahiresh
Interior Minister: Omar Alsekni
Justice Minister: Almabrouk Omran
Foreign Minister: Muhammed Aldayri
Defence Minister: "vacant"
Planning & Finance Minister: Kamal Alhasi
Health Minister: Reda Almanshawi
Education Minister: Fathi Almajberi
Work & Social Security Minister: MAsoud Sowwah
Commerce & Industry Minister: Muneer Aser
Website of the Libyan Transitional Government
Prime Minister's Office (رئاسة مجلس الوزراء - الحكومة
الليبية المؤقتة): http://www.pm-ly.com/ (inoperational).
Prime Minister's Office (رئاسة مجلس الوزراء - الحكومة
الليبية المؤقت): http://lytgov.com/
[1]: source: Prime Minister's Office: http://www.pm.gov.ly/news/مجلس-النواب-يمنح-الثقة-لحكومة-الازمة-في-ليبيا.html
(Please note that many of the links to government announcements
and news were removed or became unavailable after the military takeover of
Tripoli in 2014. Please accept our apology if the above reference leads to
a "dead
end".)
On the 26th of July 2014 LANA reported that HoR members from the western,
middle and southern areas held their first consultative meeting on Saturday to
discuss preparations for the 4th of August opening session, including the issue
of security in Benghazi. Also they have created a small committee to define the
mechanism for getting to Benghazi on time for the opening session on the 4th
of August 2014 [*] .
There were rumours saying the new parliament will revoke the controversial Political
Isolation Law (in order to aid reconciliation), and disband the Islamist-dominated
LROR brigade, which was created by the Islamist-dominated GNC.
* lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/57043/ (مجلس النواب يعقد اجتماع تشاوري للتنسيق لعقد الجلسة الأولى في أغسطس المقبل )
(2) - Council Members Call For An Urgent Meeting
In Tobruk: دعوة لأعضاء مجلس النواب لعقد جلسة عاجلة بمدينة طبرق
Dr. Aboubaker B'airah
The head of the committee appointed to organise the handover ceremony, Dr.
Aboubaker B'airah (الدكتور أبوبكر بعيرة), has called for the Council
members to meet in Tobruk on Saturday the 2nd of August
2014. In his statement to LANA Dr. Aboubaker said a large number of members insisted
on an urgent meeting to discuss the deteriorating situation in Libya [*].
However, according to the GNC's spokesman, no one has the legal right to decide
where or when the first session can be held except the GNC, and that the handover
ceremony stays scheduled for the 4th of August as set by law 56/2014 (lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/57227/).
* lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/57220/ (دعوة مجلس النواب لعقد جلسة عاجلة بمدينة
طبرق)
(3) - The House of Representatives Holds Handover
Ceremony in Tobruk
Screen capture from Libya For The Free TV (libya.tv), confirming that the handover
ceremony took place in Tobruk.
On the 4th of August 2014, the House of Representatives held its handover
ceremony in Tobruk. The number of council representatives who attended the ceremony,
according to Libya TV, is 170, while according to Libya Herald only 158
were present in the meeting. Unlike the handover from the NTC to the GNC, only
the First Deputy President of the GNC (Mr. Ezzedin al-Awami) and the Justice
Minister (Mr. Salah al-Marghani) have attended the ceremony. The opening meeting
of the HoR was chaired by Dr. Abubaker Mustafa Ali B'airah (الدكتور أبوبكر بعيرة),
Benghazi's HoR member.
(4) - Voting The President of The House of Representatives:
نتائج التصويت لاختيار رئيس مجلس النواب
The President of the House of Representatives: Mr. Agila Saleh Esa Egwaider
(عقيلة صالح عيسى اقويدر)
4/8/2014:
First Round Results: no member was able to secure
a majority from 158 votes. Thirty (30) elected members did not attend the first
session, most of whom according to Libyan media were Islamists who boycotted
the handover ceremony in Tobruk.
بوبكر مصطفى بعيرة
Abubaker Mustafa Ali B'airah: 54 votes
عقيلة صالح عيسى اقويدر
Agila Saleh Esa Egwaider: 46 votes
Second Round Results:
عقيلة صالح عيسى اقويدر
Agila Saleh Esa Egwaider: 77 votes
بوبكر مصطفى بعيرة
Abubaker Mustafa Ali B'airah: 74votes
(5) - Protests in Misrata Against The HoR's Decision
to Meet in Tobruk
06 August 2014:
Protesters gathered in Misrata protesting against the House of
Representatives' decision to conduct its duties from Tobruk, and even describing
the move as a "coup".
It is reported that some of the 30 members who did not attend the HoR's first
meeting in Tobruk are from Misrata.
According to LANA, the protesters are supporting the "Libya Dawn" operation
to correct the path of the 17th of February and to confront the remnants
of the ousted regime (lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/57573/).
(6) - Public Support For The House of Representatives
07 August 2014:
Tripoli's Civil Societies have declared their full support for
the elected House of Representatives. Tribal leaders from Benghazi have also
declared their support for the House of Representatives. On the other hand,
the people and the revolutionaries of Sabratha have declared their neutral stand and
instead urged the HoR to call for an iimmediate ceasefire.
Operation
Dignity's air force commander, Brigadier-General Saqr Adam Algeroushi, has confirmed
that Dignity Operation members fully support the new House of Representatives,
and that it is the duty of Benghazi's Libyan Army to protect the Council. Demonstrations
were also held in Zintan in support of the newly elected Libyan House of Representatives.
All in all, the operation to divide Libyans
into two conflicting groups has began. Let us hope the Third Transitional Government
(the HoR) can do the Herculean task: to steer Libya away from the clutches of
the "Anonymous
Enemy". Such task is doable only if people refuse to fight each other
no matter what.
(7) - HoR Questions Chief of Staff: مجلس النواب
يستدعي رئيس الأركان العامة
Chief of Staff Major-General Abdulsalam Jadallah al-Obeidi
(رئيس الأركان العامة للجيش الليبي اللواء ركن عبدالسلام العبيدي)
10 August 2014:
After calling for an immediate ceasefire a few days ago, the HoR invited Chief
of Staff Major-General Abdulsalam al-Obeidi
for questioning over the current clashes in Tripoli and Benghazi. According to
the HoR's social media page, General Obeidi revealed that the Libyan army
is about to collapse (الجيش الليبي على وشك الانهيار), and that he has no control
over the run-away militias involved in the clashes
in Tripoli and Benghazi. He said those militias do not belong to his army and
therefore he is incapable of issuing orders to ceasefire in Tripoli and Benghazi
(عاجز عن إصدار أوامره بوقف إطلاق النار بطرابلس وبنغازي، وأن القوات المهاجمة لا
تتبعه).
(8) - HoR Calls For All Absent Members To Resume
Their Duties
28 August 2014:
The HoR finally made the decision
to recall all absent members to attend the sessions of the House of Representatives
in Tobruk. It appears that the call may be a warning for the members to fulfil
their expectation before the HoR elects a new replacement.
(9) - HoR (مجلس النواب يكلف الثني بتشكيل
حكومة)
1 September 2014:
The HoR has voted Mr. Althni transitional Prime Minister. He was instructed
to form an emergency governent of 18 ministers. Only 111 members attended the
session. Source: http://www.hor.ly/index.php/ct-menu-item-12/ct-menu-item-14/192-2014-09-01-12-29-31
Note:
Please note that since September 2014 we were unable to confirm any
news relating to the HoR. We consider www.hor.ly is the only official
site for the government of Libya, but unfortunately the website has become
unavauilble since the GNC tookover of Tripoli last year.
(10) - HoR Extends Its Mandate (تمديد
ولاية مجلس النواب الليبي حتى تسليم السلطة لجسم شرعي )
05 October 2015:
The HoR has extended its mandate to remain in power until the handover
of power to a legitimate body.
(11) - The HoR Splits Into Two Blocs
18 November 2015:
When Mr. Leon had specifically singled out the president of the HoR
and the president of the GNC for obstructing the UN-controlled dialogue
(by not allowing their members to vote over his GNA proposal) he has
in effect split each congress into two opposing blocs, and thus creating
more tension instead of uniting the two parties per his alleged mission.
The HoR, for example, as a direct result of the UN's violations of the
signed draft agreement, has been divided into two groups: one group led
by around 92 HoR members, who went on to sign the violations
committed by the UN and which later became known as "Bloc
92"
[2]; and another group who rejected the violations in principle and instead
insisted on abiding by the signed draft agreement, which later became
known as the "Sovereignty Bloc" [3].
The sovereignty bloc rejects any foreign-imposed government and any foreign
military force to protect such government. Reportedly [4] it was Bloc
92 that gave permission to the HoR members to sign the Skhirat LPA on
the 17th of December 2015; which suggests that there are two governing
bodies at the HoR. The HoR's website so far had failed to clarify this
fundamental issue to the Libyan people.
(12) - Fezzan's HoR Members Form A Southern
Bloc (بعض أعضاء مجلس النواب أسسوا كتلة
الجنوب)
1 August 2017
As an excerice of chaos and division the Fazzan members of the House
of Representatives have also formed their own "gang", else
known as "bloc",
inside the HoR [5]. They called it the "Southern Bloc" (كتلة
الجنوب). Now this is what
you call "street democracy". The head of the "gang" is
Mr. Alhadi Ali Alsagheer (رئيس الكتلة الهادي الصغير). To download a copy
of the founding manifesto please follow this link: http://www.libyan-parliament.org/البيان-التأسيسي-لكتلة-الجنوب-بمجلس-ال/
The Berbers' stand regarding this latest round of elections is disappointment and wide disagreement. The Tuareg Berbers of the Sahara have participated in the elections (even though
they boycotted the elections of the constitutional committee), while the Berbers
of Zuwarah and Jado did not take part in the House of Representatives elections.
The Berbers of Zuwarah & Jado Boycott HoR Elections
Self-appointed Amazigh Council
A conference was held in Zuwarah to discuss the Berbers' participation in
the House of Representatives elections. The attendees agreed to boycott the
elections. Their demands were outlined in a manifesto called (البيان الختامي),
meaning "The Final Manifesto", announced in Zuwarah on the 10th of
May 2014. Their demands can be summarised as follows:
Amend the CD's Article 30 in relation to the principle of "consensus".
Increase the number of parliament members from the Berber areas.
Assign parliament members to the excluded areas.
Demands of the Amazigh Council: (announced on the 18 of May 2014)
Boycott the parliamentary elections.
Amend the CD's Article 30 in relation to the principle of "consensus".
Kabaw (Nafousa Mountain): 5 مراكز انتخابية لم تفتتح بسبب مقاطعة الأمازيغ
في مدينة كاباو
According to LANA, all the HoR election centres in the Kabaw sub-constituency
44 were open for election except five polling stations in Kabaw, which did not
open due to the Berbers' boycott [1]. However, the HNEC's published results reveal
that Kabaw's Ali Khalifa Alaisawi had won 546
votes, indicating a very low participation [2].
Nalut
Very low turnout: Salem Masoud Qanan secured only 705
votes.
Tuareg Berbers Will Take Part in Parliamentary Elections
The Tuareg Supreme Council has confirmed on the 27th of May 2014 that the
Tuareg will take part in the House of Representatives election. They said taking
part will help Libya towards stability. The president of the council, Mr. Moulay
Qadid (مولاي قديدي), was reported to have said that the reason
for the Tuareg's participation is to ensure their rights from the principle
of being a component of the Libyan society.
Ironically, the Tuareg of Ghadames still are stranded in Awal in refugee camps,
just like the tragedy of Tawerghans, and yet the government is unable to secure
a return for them to their homes in Ghadames, despite all these years, but
can provide ballot boxes for them to vote in Awal. Bring the boxes, fill
them in, take them away, and leave the Berbers in the desert where they belong.
Tuareg areas participating in the elections:
Ghat
Awbari
Ghadames (from Awal refugee camp)
Murzuq
Very low turnout in all Tuareg areas
Ghadames: Abdulqader Hiba secured only 726
votes.
Ghat: Naser Yousef Algheryani secured only 524
votes.
Ghat: Saleh Hemah Bekdah secured only 380
votes.
Murzuq: Muhammed Ahmed Linu secured 3060
votes.
Awbari: Abdulhafid Muhammed Alsaghir secured 760
votes.
Tebu Participate in Elections: (التبو بمنطقة الكفرة يعلنون مشاركتهم في انتخابات
مجلس النواب)
Despite all the problems the Tebu tribes will take part in the elections
of the House of Representatives, Housein Ayah told Lana [3]. However,
Solidarity Press reported that 10 polling stations were closed (out of 13) to
avoid the violations encountered during the GNC election [4].
However, the 3 seats assigned to Kufra remain undecided as of the 6th of August
2014.
[1] lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/55012/ (الدائرة الفرعية 44 كاباو شهدت إقبالا كثيفا على المراكز الانتخابية لاختيار ممثليهم في مجلس النواب المرتقب)
[2] results.hnec.ly/cor/ballot/8/44
[3] lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/54958/ (التبو بمنطقة الكفرة يعلنون مشاركتهم في انتخابات مجلس النواب)
[4] presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/69107-10_مراكز_انتخابية_بالكفرة_ترفض_استقبال_الناخبين/
Laws & Decrees
(1) - The Decision to Meet in Tobruk
On the 4th of August 2014, the House of Representatives made its first decision
to hold its handover ceremony in Tobruk’s Dar Assalam Hotel.
GNC officials and party and rebel leaders quickly declared their opposition
to the decision, stating that the move violates the
(controversial)
Constitutional Declaration, and that Tobruk is used
by Dignity leaders to bomb Benghazi (in their war against Islamist militants
and outlaw militias).
According to most Libyans, the level of
terrorism plighting Benghazi ever since the presumed liberation is sufficient
enough to move the parliament away from Tibesti Hotel and to any other town in
Libya; after all Tibesti hotel was a target of a number of terrorist attacks
in the past few years. Given the fact that the GNC
had repeatedly failed to protect itself in Tripoli, the GNC's opposition to the
HoR's decision is illogical.
The most important point overlooked by most parties is that Decree
56 (of Year 2014), issued by the GNC itself, has decided the 4th of August 2014
to be the handover day, but it failed to define where this ceremony
should take place. This is strange decision, since
it should have been decided then where and when the ceremony should take place,
in order to allow HoR members the time to prepare for the meeting and implement
security. Leaving such
important point undefined the GNC has only itself to blame.
More
importantly, according to Benghazi's HoR member Mr. Muftah Ekwider (مفتاح
اكويدير), the comments made by some politicians and party leaders regarding
Tobruk are invalid because Mr. Nuri Busahmain himself had already authorised
the Office of the House of Representatives to determine the date and the venue
of the House of Representatives according to Decree 59; and that the CD itself
spoke of transfer of power to the House of Representatives within two weeks of
announcing the final results of the elections. In addition to these two reasons,
he continued, the dangers posed by the collapse of security in Benghazi, as noted
by the commander of the House of Representatives Protection Force and also by
the Ministry of Interior, has led HoR members to search for an alternative place
to meet.
According to the website of the House of Representatives, the members of
the Council have issued their first decree, amending Article 34 of the February
Commission Proposal that was approved by GNC's
CD Amendment 7. The HoR amendment adds a new clause to Article 34, as follows:
طبرق
6 August 2014
اصدر مجلس النواب اليوم قرارا أضاف بموجبه فقرة جديدة
إلى المادة 34 من مقترح لجنة فبراير المعتمد بمقتضي التعديل الدستوري السابع بحيث
يكون نصها على النحو التالي: وإلى حين انتخاب رئيس الدولة المؤقت يمارس مجلس النواب
كافة الاختصاصات الواردة أعلاه باستثناء الاختصاصين المنصوص عليهما في الفقرتين
الأولى والتاسعة من المادة المشار إليها التي تسند إلى رئيس مجلس الوزراء وفي جميع
الأحوال
يجوز لمجلس النواب أن يفوض مكتب رئاسة المجلس في جميع أو بعض الاختصاصات المسندة إلى هذا المجلس بمقتضي هذا التعديل
Temehu.com's Translation:
State of Libya
Libyan House of Representatives
Constitutional Amendment 8
After consulting:
The temporary Constitutional Declaration issued on the 3rd of August
2011 and its amendments,
And Law (10) of 2014, regarding the election of the
House of Representatives for the transitional period,
And the GNC’s Decree
(62) of 2013, regarding endorsing amending GNC’s internal rules of procedure,
And what the House of Representatives had concluded on its session of the
6th of August in Tobruk.
Issued The Following Constitutional Amendment:
Article (1)
Adding a new clause to Article 34 of the February Commission Proposal that
was approved by the Constitutional Amendment 7, as follows:
- And until electing
the country's “temporary” president, the “temporary” House of Representatives
will carry out all the above responsibilities except the two responsibilities
defined by clauses 1 and 9 of the aforementioned article which will be the responsibility
of the prime minister.
And in all cases the House of Representatives can refer any or all of its
responsibilities to the Office of the President of the House of Representatives
according to this amendment.
Article (2)
This amendment is effective from the date of its issuance, and be published
in the official newspaper.
The House of Representatives has called for all fighting parties without
exception to stop fighting without any conditions and to stop the attacks
on civilians. The HoR will take the necessary actions required to guarantee the
protection of civilians and government institutions if fighting
does not stop immediately. This decree is effective from the date of its issuance:
6th of August 2014.
(4) - HoR Decrees Direct Election of Libya’s
President (مجلس النواب يوافق على اختيار رئيس الدولة الليبية عن طريق الانتخابات
المباشرة):
12 August 2014:
One hundred and forty one (141) members of the Libyan House of Representatives
have voted to elect Libya's president via direct elections. Only 144 members
were present , with 2 members voting
against and 1 abstained (صوت عضوين بلا ، وامتنع أحد الأعضاء عن التصويت).
Source:
House of Representatives: hor.ly/index.php/ct-menu-item-12/ct-menu-item-14/158-2014-08-12-13-43-24
(5) - : HoR Decrees Foreign Intervention
to Protect Civilians: مجلس
النواب يصدر قراراً بالأغلبية للمطالبة بالتدخل العاجل لحماية المدنيين في ليبيا
13 August 2014:
The House of Representatives has decided to invite a foreign intervention
to protect civilians in Libya; apparently because no one took notice of
its call for ceasefire (issued 7 days ago). The decision was voted by only 111
members out of 200 members (out of whom only 124 were present during the voting
session) (hor.ly/index.php/ct-menu-item-12/ct-menu-item-14/160-2014-08-13-11-32-26 ).
Article (1): the House of Representatives is calling for the
United Nations Security Council to:
المادة الأولى: يطالب مجلس النواب الليبي
هيئة الأمم المتحدة ومجلس الأمن الدولي بالتدخل العاجل لحماية المدنين ومؤسسات الدولة
في ليبيا
Article (2): the Office of the Presidency of the Council
of Representatives is authorised to take all necessary measures to implement
the provisions of this decree:
المادة الثانية: يفوض مكتب رئاسة مجلس النواب
باتخاذ كافة التدابير اللازمة لتنفيذ أحكام هذا القرار
Even though the published statement does not specifically call for "military
intervention", the Libyan House of Representatives is urged to re-consider
its hasty decision to invite any kind of intervention, especially from the UN,
simply because the current chaos in Libya was undoubtedly due to the first intervention
authorised by the UN to bomb Libya back to square one without an exit strategy.
All the latest reports coming from the west state that they (the UN-authorised
forces) "got
it wrong" and that they "have learnt
the lessons from Libya" do not add
up, since no one then took any notice of the exit
strategy proposed
by a British-led team during the so-called "Contact
Group"
meetings in Istanbul (involving Arab dictators, of course), nor of the reports
of extremist
groups being armed by some of
the countries authorised by the UN to bomb Libya in 2011 (including dictatorial
countries, of course).
Therefore the right
decree to pass would be to investigate the first intervention and question the
UN if it ever achieved its objective to "protect
civilians" by
destroying Libya's entire infrastructure while others were left arming the
unleashed extreme militias in the background.
(6) - : HoR Dissolves All Irregular
Armed Groups Not Part of The Government
13 August 2014:
The House of Representatives has decided to dissolve all irregular armed
groups that are not part of the Libyan army:
اصدر مجلس النواب قراره السابع
لسنة 2014م والذي يقضي بحل كافة التشكيلات غير النظامية
The decree was voted
by 102 members (out of 104 present members).
(7) - HoR Elects Colonel Alnadouri Chief of Staff
of The Libyan Army
Chief of Staff Number 5: Colonel Abdul Razzaq Alnadouri
(رئيس الأركان العامة للجيش الليبي العقيد عبدالرزاق الناظوري)
23 August 2014:
The House of Representatives has elected Colonel Abdul Razzaq Alnadouri Chief
of Staff. He was promoted to the rank of "Major-General" (اللواء)
after he was voted by 88 representatives (out of 124 present representatives)
(www.hor.ly/index.php/ct-menu-item-12/ct-menu-item-14/184-2014-08-24-17-51-34).
Colonel Alnadouri is from the town of Merj, in Cyrenaica. He took part in
the war against government forces in February 2011 after forming Alawfiya Militia
(كتيبة الأوفياء) from fighters from various Cyrenaican towns. After establishing
their barracks in Tarhouna, apparently guarding a weapons storage facility, Alawfiya
changed their name to Militia 124 Battalion.
He was reported to have been the first to join Haftar's Dignity Battle against
Islamists and terror groups in Cyrenaica, where he became the First Deputy Major-General
for Khalifa Haftar (المساعد الاول للواء الركن خليفه حفتر).
(8) - HoR Issues Terror Prevention Law: ( قانون
مكافحة الإرهاب )
14 September 2014:
The HoR has issued a detailed law regarding terrorism in
Libya. The law defines what constitutes a terror act and sets the punishment
for each terror act accordingly. This is a significant step forward for which
the country was destroyed; instead of building Libya and getting on with prosperous
life, the Libyans found themselves plighted with sponsored terrorism which now
requires specific laws and procedures to live with (rather
than eradicate).
(9) - HoR Approves Government Proposed by Althni ( مجلس
النواب يوافق على حكومة الأزمة التي قدمها الثني )
22 September 2014:
According to the PMO's website, 110
members have voted to approve the government proposed by
Abdullah Althni. The emergency, transitional government consists of caretaker
Prime Minister Abdullah Althni, three PM assistants, and ten ministers. Surprisingly,
again, there was no minister for the ministry of defence. For more information
please see the Government tab
(in the above green menu).
(10) - HoR Abolishes The Controversial Isolation
Law (صوَت مجلس النواب على إلغاء قانون العزل السياسي)
2 February 2015
The House of Representatives (HoR) was reported to have finally voted
by a majority of those present on the abolition of the controversial Political
Isolation Law. It is not possible to access the HoR's website for official
confirmation, but according to Press Solidarity [1] the news
was confirmed by Isa Alaribi, a member of the House of Representative. The
law was reportedly passed by the gun on May 2013 when the GNC was still in
power.
A few days later, the interior minister Omar Alsekni revealed that 90% of
Libya's problems are caused by the isolation law, and that freezing the law
will enable the return of the administrative, security and military
personnel to their positions so that they can participate in the construction
of Libya's future.
In relation to the reported dispute between the prime minister Althni and
the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar (in reference to Haftar's failed attempt
to prevent Althni's plane landing in Benghazi),
Mr. Alsekni was reported to have said that there is "no
place in new Libya for a new Gaddafi" [3].
However, according to Alrseefa [4] the president of the HoR's finance committee
Mr. Abdulsalam
Naseyah (عبد السلام نصية) said in his social page that the voting was illegal
because it did not achieve the required majority of 101 votes stipulated by
the 5th Amendment of the Constitutional Declaration, and
that the project to abolish the isolation law should be assigned to the HoR's
constitutional and legislative committee
to prepare for another vote.
(11) The HoR Conditionally-Approves The Libyan
Political Agreement While Rejecting The GNA & Article (8)
25 January 2016:
The House of Representatives had conditionally-approved the Libyan Political
Agreement by 96 votes (out of 104) [1]. The HoR had also "canceled"
(إلغاء) Article (8) of the same Libyan Political Agreement by 86 votes [44],
and "rejected" the proposed GNA government of
32 ministers by 89 votes [2]. Please see GNA for
more information.
The HoR has never had an official website. Libyan government websites usually
have .gov.ly domains (for example, gnc.gov.ly is the official website of the
previous parliament). The first domain of the House of Representatives does
not have the official .gov extension; probably because the HoR was never
allowed entry to the capital Tripoli. Later the capital was taken over by militias
in a military coup that reinstated the defunct GNC to power. It seems plausible
that the HoR had no access to the domain authority in the hijacked capital,
and so it created its first .ly domain (see next).
Website 1
http://www.hor.ly/
This is the first domain the HoR used for its official website. Unfortunately,
since the .ly
domain authority is located in Tripoli this domain too began to
experience some issues shortly after the Libya Dawn militia took control
of the capital. Shortly afterwards the HoR was denied this domain too,
and the website was thereafter "closed" or
locked since around September 2014. Visiting this domain
displays the following home page:
"website closed"
The home page of the HoR's first .ly website (http://www.hor.ly/)
In 2016 the site disappeared altogether, and instead the browser returns: "Server
not found".
Website 2
http://www.libyan-parliament.org/
As a result, the HoR was forced to use .org domain for its official website,
which appeared around February 2015.
The "home page" of the second website of the HoR
(http://www.libyan-parliament.org/ ). This website went offline in November 2018.
See the new website below.
Website 3
Social webpages: there are other facebook pages claiming to
represent the HoR, but since there are no links from libyan-parliament.org
to these pages one cannot be sure if they are official or fake. To locate these
pages just search facebook for: مجلس-النواب-ليبيا
In November 2018 the HoR has finally recovered its .ly domain (http://parliament.ly/). This change occured shortly before the HoR released Referendum Law 6 of 2018 and CD Amendemnts 10 and 11 . Even though the HoR seems to have recovered his .ly status it still does not have a .gov domain as the hijackers of Tripoli do.
WayBack Machine Website Map:
The
WayBack Machine's sitemap of the HoR website
gives a snapshot of the site
at any time from 2015 to the present
(just run the mouse on any area of the circle to select the required date and
then click).
