Aguila Saleh, speaker of Libya’s House of Representatives, and Mohamed Takala, president of the High State Council, agreed during a meeting in Ankara that the 6+6 committee responsible for drafting election laws would meet in Türkiye.
In a joint statement issued after Thursday’s meeting, the two chambers agreed to strengthen national reconciliation, support political and institutional stability, and maintain coordination in the national processes facing the country.
The statement said Libya’s political process should be conducted within the framework of the Constitutional Declaration, the legal framework and the political agreement regulating the work of the two chambers. This framework should guarantee respect for the powers of both institutions.
The 6+6 committee will prepare election laws
The two chambers welcomed Türkiye’s readiness to host the 6+6 committee in the coming days. The committee is expected to complete and finalize its work on laws that would pave the way for elections.
The 6+6 committee, formed by the House of Representatives and the High State Council, was established after talks held on June 6, 2023, in Bouznika, Morocco. Some of the provisions drafted by the committee faced objections from parties in Libya, delaying efforts to make the committee’s work effective.
Call to end institutional division
The Ankara meeting also stressed the need to unify sovereign institutions and executive authorities, end institutional division and establish a unified executive body. These steps should help advance the electoral process expected by the Libyan people.
Takala also handed Saleh a letter concerning the leadership of Libya’s National High Electoral Commission. The letter is expected to be considered by the House of Representatives within the framework of the relevant procedures and powers.
A 13+13 committee previously formed by the House of Representatives and the High State Council to determine Libya’s sovereign positions also met in Bouznika, Morocco, in January 2021. The talks addressed positions including the presidency of the Supreme Judicial Council, the attorney general, the governor of the Central Bank, the head of the National Oil Corporation, the head of general intelligence and the head of the electoral commission.
Libya-Türkiye cooperation discussed in Ankara
On the same day, Türkiye’s Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin also met with Saleh and Takala in Ankara. The meeting addressed developments in Libya and the region, continued cooperation between the two countries, steps to achieve political and military unity, and efforts to preserve stability in Libya.
The parties agreed on the goals of achieving political unity and unifying institutions. Talks have been ongoing in Libya for some time to organize presidential and parliamentary elections, resolve disputes over the executive authority and establish military and political unity.
Libya has the Government of National Unity, headed by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh and based in Tripoli, which governs the western regions, and the government of Osama Hamad, based in Benghazi, which governs numerous cities in the east and south. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya continues its efforts to achieve elections that would end the political crisis.
