Libyan House of Representatives مجلس النواب Majlis al-Nuwaab | |
---|---|
![]() | |
History | |
Founded | 4 August 2014 |
Preceded by | General National Congress |
Leadership | |
Speaker | |
Deputy-Speakers | Imhemed Shaib Ahmed Huma since 5 August 2014 |
Rapporteur | Musaab al-Abed [2] |
Seats | 200 |
Elections | |
Parallel voting; 40 seats through first-past-the-post in single-member constituencies, 80 seats through single non-transferable vote in 29 multi-member constituencies, and 80 seats through proportional representation | |
Last election | 25 June 2014 |
Meeting place | |
Dar al-Salam Hotel Tobruk, Libya; [3] Rixos al-Nasr Hotel Tripoli, Libya [4] Islamic Dawa Building, Benghazi, Libya [5] | |
Website | |
https://parliament.ly |
![]() |
---|
|
![]() |
The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR; Arabic : مجلس النواب, romanized: Majlis al-Nuwaab, lit. 'Council of Deputies') is the legislature of Libya resulting from the 2014 Libyan parliamentary election, which had an 18% turnout. [6] [7] On 4 August 2014, in the course of the progressing August 2014 Islamist coup in the capital Tripoli in the context of the Libyan Civil War, the House of Representatives relocated itself to Tobruk in the far east of Libya. Several HoR sessions were held in Tripoli in May 2019 while Tripoli was under armed attack, electing an Interim Speaker for 45 days. [4] [2] Between 2014 and 2021, the House of Representatives supported the Tobruk-based government led by Abdullah al-Thani before supporting the incumbent Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh. In September 2021, the House of Representatives passed a no-confidence motion against the interim GNU government and later appointed a rival Government of National Stability (GNS). [8]
The Libyan House of Representatives officially became a legislative body on 4 August 2014, following an election on 25 June 2014, replacing the General National Congress. [9] [10] Turnout at the election was 18%, [11] down from 60% in the first post-Gaddafi election of July 2012. [12] Because of security concerns no voting took place in some locations. [13]
As of 2014, [update] the chairman was Aguila Saleh Issa. [14] [1] [15] As of 2014, [update] the deputy presidents of the Council of Deputies were Imhemed Shaib and Ahmed Huma. [16] As of 2019 [update] , the HoR's associated executive authority was the Second Al-Thani Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani, based in Bayda, Libya. [17]
The Tripoli-based Libyan Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on 6 November 2014 that the June elections were unconstitutional and that the House of Representatives should be dissolved. The House of Representatives rejected the ruling, saying that the ruling was made "at gunpoint", with the court being controlled by armed militias. [18]
On 23 August 2014, a rival parliament in Tripoli was restored, the General National Congress (GNC). [19] [20] The House of Representatives did not recognize the new GNC, and voted on 6 October 2015, 112 out of 131, "to extend its term beyond 20 October", given the inability to hold elections. [19]
On 4 August 2014, following the occupation of Tripoli by armed Islamist groups during the Second Libyan Civil War, the House of Representatives relocated to Tobruk in the far east of the country. Since there was not enough housing for them, they initially hired a car ferry [21] from a Greek shipping company, the Elyros of ANEK Lines, for members to live and meet in. [22] [23] Later the HoR relocated to the Dar al-Salam Hotel in Tobruk. [24] [25]
In October 2015, the UN envoy for Libya, Bernardino León, announced a proposal for the House of Representatives to share power with the rival new GNC government, under a compromise prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj. However, the terms of the final proposal were not acceptable to either side, and both rejected it. [26] Nonetheless, the proposal did spark a revised proposal put together by Fayez al-Sarraj and others, which was subsequently supported by the United Nations. [27] On 17 December 2015 members of the House of Representatives and the new General National Congress signed this revised political agreement, generally known as the "Libyan Political Agreement" or the "Skhirat Agreement". [28] [29] Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council and a seventeen-member interim Government of National Accord would have been formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years. [28] The House of Representatives would have continued to exist as a legislature and an advisory body, to be known as the High Council of State, would have been formed with members nominated by the New General National Congress. [30] On 31 December 2015, Chairman of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa declared his support for the Libyan Political Agreement. [29]
As of April 2016, the Libyan National Elections Commission was still considering its recommendations on legislation to implement the next election of the House of Representatives. [31]
A new round of talks that started in October 2017 in Tunis broke down a month later without a deal. On 17 December 2017, general Khalifa Haftar declared the "so-called" Skhirat agreement void. [32]
Early in April 2019, during the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign, 31 members of the House of Representatives made a public statement supporting the attack on Tripoli and 49 members made a public statement opposing the attack. [33] On 2 May, 51 members of the HoR held a session at the Rixos al-Nasr Hotel. They stated that their session was not intended to split up the HoR nor Libya and called other members of the HoR to attend another Tripoli session planned for 5 May. They opposed the use of military force, called for a political solution to the offensive, and called for the Presidential Council, in its role as the head of the Libyan armed forces, to appoint a new head of the army [4] to replace Khalifa Haftar, who had been appointed by the HoR on 2 March 2015. [34]
On 5 May, a Tripoli session of 47 members of the House of Representatives elected al-Sadiq al-Kehili as Interim Speaker, Musaab al-Abed as a rapporteur and Hammuda Siala [35] as a spokesperson, for a period of 45 days, with 27 votes in favour. [36] [2] In the 2014 Libyan parliamentary election, al-Kehili was elected with 1596 votes in electorate 56, Tajura; Musaab al-Abed (Musab Abulgasim) was elected with 2566 votes in electorate 59, Hay al-Andalus; and Sayala (Siyala) was elected with 6023 votes in electorate 58, Tripoli Central. [37] On 8 May, another session was held in Tripoli, creating an Internal Code Review committee, to review HoR decisions made since 2014, under Article 16 of the Skhirat Agreement; an International Communication committee; a Secretarial Office; and a Crisis committee, to "follow" the work of the emergency committee created by the Presidential Council in relation to the 2019 Western Libya offensive. [38] Sayala stated in a televised interview that solving the crisis in Libya would require a political agreement in which the HoR is "restored" as the highest legislative authority in Libya. [36]
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(May 2020) |
On 17 July 2019, one of the Benghazi members of the House of Representatives, Seham Sergewa, well-known for her documentation of rape as a weapon of war during the 2011 Libyan Civil War, [39] was detained by the Libyan National Army (LNA). [40] As of 20 July 2019 [update] , her location was unknown. [40]
On 10 March 2021, the House of Representatives met in the central city of Sirte to formally approve the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Mohamed al-Menfi as chairman of the Presidential Council and Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as Prime Minister. 121 members of the House voted to approve the formation of the unity government. [41] The Government of National Unity was seeking to unify the rival Government of National Accord based in Tripoli and the Second Al-Thani Cabinet based in Tobruk.
On 21 September, the House of Representatives passed a no-confidence vote against the GNU led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh after 83 out of the 113 members present voted for the motion, thus practically acknowledging support for the Government of National Stability. [8]
On 10 February 2022, the House of Representatives selected Fathi Bashagha as prime minister-designate, after HoR Speaker Aguila Saleh announced the only other candidate, Khalid Al-Baybas, withdrew his candidacy. [42] However, Al-Baybas has denied withdrawing from the race. [43] Prime Minister of the GNU Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh rejected Bashagha's appointment as prime minister, stating that he will only hand power after a national election. [42] Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army welcomed Bashagha's appointment. [44] Civilian and military leaders in Misrata rejected the formation of a new government and declared support for the GNU. [45] Egypt's foreign ministry supported the “new government,” but the United Nations said it continued to recognize Mr. Dbeiba's leadership. [46]
On 1 March, the House of Representatives voted to give confidence to Bashagha's Government of National Stability (GNS). According to HoR Speaker Saleh, 92 out of 101 attending members voted for the new government. [47] A HoR member raised questions about the validity of the vote by stating that 10 votes from absent members were cast via voice messages sent to the Speaker. [48] The High Council of State rejected "unilateral" steps by the HoR and regards the HoR decision to grant confidence to a new government a violation of the Libyan Political Agreement. [49] The United Nations has voiced concerns over the vote due to reports on lack of transparency and procedure, and acts of intimidation prior to the HoR session. [50]
On 16 May 2023, Finance Minister Osama Hamada was appointed acting Prime Minister of Libya by the House of Representatives.
On 7 July 2012, the National Transitional Council, in power since the Libyan Civil War, supervised democratic elections for a 200-member General National Congress to replace the Council. The assembly was to choose a prime minister and organize parliamentary elections in 2013. A process to write a constitution was also to be determined. Unrest driven by armed militias, ethnic minority and radical groups undermined the process and the government for the years following the overthrowing of Muammar Gaddafi. While internal apathy towards democratic reforms slowed the process, external bodies such as the European Union were still pressing for the establishment of a national dialogue to build consensus for the drafting of a new constitution to take place before the end of 2014. Parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held on 25 June 2014 in a move aimed at stabilizing the country and quelling the unrest.
Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Omar Haftar is a Libyan politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). On 2 March 2015, he was appointed commander of the Armed forces loyal to the elected legislative body, the Libyan House of Representatives.
The Libyan civil war (2014–2020), also more commonly known as the Second Libyan Civil War, was a multilateral civil war which was fought in Libya between a number of armed groups, but mainly the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Government of National Accord (GNA), for six years from 2014 to 2020.
Abdullah al-Theni is a Libyan politician who became prime minister of the House of Representatives of Libya on 11 March 2014, when he took over in an interim capacity after the dismissal of Ali Zeidan. He was previously the defence minister in the government of Zeidan.
The Libyan crisis is the current humanitarian crisis and political-military instability occurring in Libya, beginning with the Arab Spring protests of 2011, which led to two civil wars, foreign military intervention, and the ousting and death of Muammar Gaddafi. The first civil war's aftermath and proliferation of armed groups led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014. The second war lasted until October 23, 2020, when all parties agreed to a permanent ceasefire and negotiations.
Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj is a Libyan politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya and Head of Government of the Government of National Accord from 2016 to 2021, which was formed on 17 December 2015 under the Libyan Political Agreement. He has been a member of the Parliament of Tripoli.
The Government of National Accord was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, which welcomed the formation of a Presidency Council for Libya and recognized the Government of National Accord as the sole legitimate executive authority in Libya. On 31 December 2015, Chairman of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh Issa declared his support for the Libyan Political Agreement. The General National Congress has criticized the GNA on multiple fronts as biased in favor of its rival parliament the House of Representatives.
The Presidential Council is a body formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement which was signed on 17 December 2015. The Council carries out the functions of head of state of Libya and is proposed to command the Libyan Armed Forces.
This is a detailed timeline of the Libyan civil war (2014–2020) which lasted from 2014 to 2020.
The Libyan presidential election had originally been planned for 10 December 2018, but was delayed due to Khalifa Haftar's Western Libya campaign. The election was thereafter scheduled to be held on 24 December 2021 but was indefinitely postponed after the head of the High National Election Commission (HNEC) ordered the dissolution of the electoral committees nationwide.
The Western Libya campaign was a military campaign initiated on 4 April 2019 by the Operation Flood of Dignity of the Libyan National Army, which represents the Libyan House of Representatives, to capture the western region of Libya and eventually the capital Tripoli held by the United Nations Security Council-recognised Government of National Accord. The Government of National Accord regained control over all of Tripoli in June 2020 and the LNA forces withdrew from the capital, after fourteen months of fighting.
Fathi Ali Abdul Salam Bashagha, known simply as "Fathi Bashagha" or occasionally Fathi Ali Pasha, is a Libyan politician and the former interim prime minister of Government of National Stability. He served as Minister of Interior from 2018 to 2021.
The Libyan peace process was a series of meetings, agreements and actions that aimed to resolve the Second Libyan Civil War. Among these were the Skhirat agreement of December 2015 and the plans for the Libyan National Conference in April 2019 that were delayed because of the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign.
The 2020 Libyan protests consisted of street protests over issues of poor provision of services in several cities in Libya, including cities controlled by the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west and by the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the east (Benghazi) and south (Sabha) of Libya.
Abdul Hamid Muhammad Abdul Rahman al-Dbeibeh is a Libyan politician and businessman who is the prime minister of Libya under the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli. Dbeibeh was appointed on 15 February 2021 through the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, and he was expected to hold the office until elections on 24 December 2021, which were later postponed.
The Government of National Unity is a provisional government for Libya formed on 10 March 2021 to unify the rival Government of National Accord based in Tripoli and the Second Al-Thani Cabinet, based in Tobruk. Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is the Prime Minister of the unity government and was selected in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum on 5 February 2021. It is de facto backed by the governments of Turkey, Qatar, Algeria, and Pakistan.
Parliamentary elections have been scheduled to be held in Libya since 2021. Originally scheduled for 10 December 2021, elections has been pushed back multiple times amid the ongoing political crisis in Libya.
The Government of National Stability is a provisional government of Libya based in Benghazi that formed on 3 March 2022, led by Osama Hamada and supported by the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army. Since its inception, the government has claimed power over Libya in competition with the Government of National Unity led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, with the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum coordinating the ceasefire agreement.
Osama Saad Hammad Saleh is a Libyan politician. On 16 May 2023, he was appointed acting Prime Minister of Libya by the House of Representatives. He took over from Fathi Bashagha and was previously his Finance Minister.