Disagreements between the High Council of State (HCS) and the House of Representatives (HoR) on one hand, and the UN Secretary-General Special Envoy on the other seem to be escalating.
Although usually on different sides, the leadership of the HCS and HoR appear to agree on certain issues from time to time, the most recent of which was their position against the statements of the UN Secretary-General Special Envoy Abdullah Bathily who heads the United Nations Support Mission in Libya UNSMIL. Bathily had indicated lately that the bodies currently in power in Libya do not truly wish to end the current political crisis and are attempting to extend the transitional period.
This evaluation was reinforced when the HoR adopted the road map referred to by its counterpart the HCS. In turn, 60 members of the HoR accused, in a joint statement, the UN envoy of misleading public opinion regarding the road map. The HoR spokesman Abdullah Blehaq denied what was stated by UNSMIL in regard to opening the door for new candidacies for the prime ministry, stressing that what happened during the week’s session was merely the adoption of the road map.
This was preceded by a statement from the HoR and HCS joint 6 + 6 committee, concerned with preparing electoral laws, in which it called on the UN mission to support the road map presented by HoR and HCS, and stop what the committee considered was “dictating the Libyan matter” by the mission.
A new government like Bashagha’s government
The former advisor to the HCS, Ashraf Alsheh, said in a statement to Libya Alahrar that the HoR and HCS want to remain in power and prolong their mandate and that Bathily should find actions and a political path that leads to elections.
Al-Shih explained that the steps taken by the HoR and HCS will not be supported by the international community, stating that a new government will be similar to the Bashagha government and will not be taken seriously. While the political activist Youssef Alfarsi forecasted that the UN mission and the international community do not want to form a new government and realize that such a scenario would be a failure like the previous one.
Foreign Powers step in
Coinciding with the dispute, the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the USA announced their support for the efforts of the UN envoy, stating, “Discussions on moving forward should be part of the broader political negotiations facilitated by the United Nations.”
Source: Libya Alahrar TV
