Libyan authorities propose early parliamentary election
Tripoli – Libyan electoral committee on Tuesday proposed an early general vote to solve the present crisis between the interim parliament and its attacker, retired Major General Khalifa Haftar.
The committee raised four dates for the election and the final decision will be announced at a formal news conference, UN High Commissioner Abdul Hakim told Xinhua.
According to the country’s political transition plan, Libyans will elect a House of Representatives later this year to substitute the current interim parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), but the schedule has been delayed several times due to political upheavals.
The election seems more imminent as Haftar waged a war against the GNC, trying to force it to abandon power.
The general, who played a key role in toppling Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi, led his allied forces on Sunday to attack GNC compound and the airport road, leaving two dead and more than 60 injured.
On Friday, Haftar’s forces also marched into the second largest city of Benghazi, pounding local militia bases, leaving at least 79 dead and around 140 injured.
Haftar claimed he was intended to purge “terrorists” from the parliament and the city while the interim government and parliament condemned him for trying to stage a “coup.”
Some analysts say an early election is no panacea for the recent standoff and seems unrealistic as voter registration has hardly made any progress. Furthermore, the recent Tripoli municipal election witnessed a rather a low voter turnout, which shows Libyans are fed up with politics.
GNC President Nouri Abu Sahmain on Monday called a militia from Misrata for help, asking them to confront the “attempts to take over power” in Tripoli.
Sources said GNC lawmakers were holding meetings, trying to figure out a peace solution as more army forces have recently voiced support for Haftar.
Since the downfall of Gaddafi in 2011, different interest groups have been scrambling to fill up the power vacuum in the North African Country.
