Libyan Parliament Sets Parliamentary Elections for January 2022

On Monday, the Libyan Parliament approved a law for parliamentary elections to take place a month after the planned 24 December presidential elections.

Parliament Spokesman, Abdullah Blaiheg said they had approved all articles of the law, which will keep Parliament with the same number of MP’s.

He pointed out that the approved law was voted on by 70 to 75 MP’s who were present the session.

“The law is based on the rules of the current parliamentary elections, but will shift to voting for individual candidates rather than lists,” Blaiheg explained.

The UN-backed roadmap called for parliamentary and presidential elections on 24 December, but did not specify a constitutional or legal basis for voting.

The Spokesman did not mention why the elections were scheduled for January.

The Parliament issued the presidential election law on 8 September. The country’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC) announced on 12 September that it had received the law.

The Parliament also announced the withdrawal of confidence from the Government of National Unity (GNU) but kept it as a caretaker government.

Recently, the Arab Parliament warned of the danger of not completing the Libyan elections on time. It added that this matter endangers the stability of the region and may open the way for a new phase of violence and conflict.

Furthermore, Libyan MP, Abu Bakr Said, said that the failure of the Morocco Meeting between the Parliament and the High Council of State (HCS) to reach a consensus formula confirms that there are those who do not want the elections to be held on schedule.

Source: Libya Review