Derna_ In a symbolic act showing that the city of Derna is quickly recovering from Storm Daniel catastrophe of last year, the Libyan House of Representatives on Monday has held its meeting in the city and commenced debates over a number of issues including ways and means of unifying positions with the High State Council.
Opening the first session, the Speaker of the House, Agila Saleh, praised the members of the High State Council (HSC) for showing solidarity with Derna and their support for attempts to unify both political bodies.
Saleh said their “effective role in addressing the Libyan crisis by agreeing to unify authority in order to hold presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible,” was welcomed, hoping the rapprochement between the Parliament and the HSC would continue. He did not specify what steps have been taken in this regard.
Disagreements and unilateral actions between and by these two institutions over adopting legislative rules for holding the elections often cited as a major hindrance blocking the democratic process in Libya.
In October, UNSMIL’s Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) Stephanie Koury notified the Security Council that “unilateral actions continue, they will only undermine Libya’s sovereignty, plunge the country into further crisis, and distract from the task at hand: – paving the way to a comprehensive political solution. A solution which addresses issues such as the current division of state institutions, the need for a unified government and restoring democratic legitimacy through elections.”
The member of the HSC Mansour Al-Hasadi supported the Speaker’s statement regarding the rapprochement, maintaining that it is the shortest way to ending the Libyan crisis. “If we want to renew legitimacy, rapprochement between the two councils must occur,” he told the members of the House gathering in Derna.
Earlier, the MP Abdulmoneim Al-Urafi confirmed that the House would discuss with the participating members of the HSC the possibility of holding a joint meeting between the parliament and the HSC in the city of Sirte very soon. The meeting will discuss supporting the UN mission’s initiative and the need to form a new unified government.
During its meeting, the parliament will debate three proposed laws including the law to establish the Libyan Authority for Emergecy, Crisis, and Disaster Management; the law on National Reconciliation; and the law on Combating Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism.
However, the Speaker at the last minute suspended the first session and decided to summon Osama Hamad’s government that is appointed by the Parliament for questioning. The questioning will focus on clarifying what tasks it carried out during the year 2024, and what it will do in 2025″, the Libyan News Agency (WAL) reported on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, the city of Derna itself is going through a huge drive reconstruction undertaken by many local and international companies and such drive has already showed that it could become an example of a strong political will to carry out a no-easy-task as well as a catalyst for rebuilding the whole of Libya after many decades of backwardness.