Tripoli, The Presidency of the House of Representatives (HoR) expressed its surprise at what was stated in the briefing of the UN envoy, Abdullah Bathily on Monday evening to the Security Council.
It said the briefing contained fallacies regarding the failure of the House of Representatives and the HCS to endorse the constitutional rule.
It said in the same briefing Bathily acknowledges the release of the constitutional declaration in consultation with HCS as expressed by Head of the HCS in televised statement.
It added that the UN envoy did not refer to the obstruction of HCS session by the force majeure that aborted 2021 elections, adding that the UN envoy did not refer to the failure of the rest of institutions entrusted with key tasks to make any electoral and political process a success.
“The House of Representatives welcomes the support of the international community for our goal, which is the right of the Libyan people to hold free and fair elections, and appreciates the role of the UN mission in this regard,” the statement said.
It stressed “the Libyan ownership of the political process, and that it is the only guarantor for the success of any initiatives in this regard.”
This was confirmed by Article 64 of the Libyan Political Accord, which limited the invitation to the convening of the Dialogue Committee for the parties to the agreement, i.e the House of Representatives and the HCS, to the exclusion of other bodies and entities, whether internal or external, HoR statement added.
The Presidency of HoR pointed to the obstruction and disruption of reconciliation, as well as corruption and squander of public money, as among the most important factors behind the disruption of the electoral process in the country. ‘We find nothing about this matter in the briefing of the UN envoy, which places the UN mission in a double standard situation, and non-neutrality among Libyan parties’’ it added.
The statement added, “We remind all Libyans, the envoy, and the international community that holding the House of Representatives alone with this responsibility is incorrect, and contradicts the Libyan reality. External interference, failure to complete the Geneva output map within the timeline already set, and failure to complete the two most important tracks, reconciliation and security, are the most important obstacles to ending the Libyan crisis.
In its statement, the House of Representatives affirmed that it “worked diligently with the HCS and the UN mission to accomplish what was required, in light of the local and international complications, and accomplished the necessary measure to conduct the electoral process as soon as possible,”
It called on “the rest of the homeland’s partners to give priority to the national interest to achieve the will of the Libyans to hold the elections; both presidential and parliamentary. ‘
The statement called on the international community to support Libyan institutions in carrying out their tasks, especially those related to approving electoral legislation, laws regulating public spending, and activating international mechanisms against those working to confiscate the work of the partner institutions in the political track and obstructing the enforcement of Libyan legislation.
The Presidency of HoR expressed its categorical rejection of the blatant interference in Libyan affairs, and prejudice to the efforts of security and law enforcement institutions, when they carry out their work in accordance with the legislation in force, and in full compliance with the regulations governing their work, and in full observance of human rights, in such a way that guarantees the protection of the supreme interests of the Libyan state.
The HoR renewed its keen interest to hold parliamentary and presidential elections as soon as possible, and in the best conditions, reminding the Libyans and the international community that “the House of Representatives took all necessary measures to conduct elections on December 24, 2021, and they were spoilt by the force of arms and corruption.”
Source: Libya News Agency