The Supreme Council of State in Libya rejected the announcement by the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, to open the door for nominations to form a unified government for the country.
The Supreme Council of State stressed in a statement it issued that consensus and not taking a single decision are the basis that the parties sought to achieve during the tripartite meeting sponsored by the Arab League, noting that the unilateral step by the House of Representatives, by approving a huge budget, obstructs the path of consensus and perpetuates division.
The statement stated that the consensus process required completing the mechanisms related to all points included in the Arab League statement, but the House of Representatives’ decision to open the door for nominations to head the unified government is a violation of the political agreement.
For its part, the House of Representatives stressed the need to avoid unilateral steps that may lead to failure and deepen the state of division, stressing that it will not recognize any measures taken unilaterally, in reference to Aguila Saleh’s announcement to open the door for nominations to head the unified government until August 11, and his call for the Supreme Council of State to recommend candidates for this position.
In a related context, Aguila Saleh held a meeting in Cairo last March with Mohamed Al-Menfi, head of the Libyan Presidential Council, and Mohamed Takala, head of the Supreme Council of State, under the auspices of the Arab League to resolve the differences that hinder the holding of general elections.
According to the Arab League statement, the three parties agreed to form a unified government to supervise the elections, provide essential services to citizens, and unify sovereign positions. However, on July 10, the House of Representatives approved a unified budget for the country worth 179 billion Libyan dinars, which led to Mohamed Takala suspending his participation in the dialogues sponsored by the Arab League.
It is worth noting that Libya suffers from the presence of two competing governments: the Government of National Unity headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in Tripoli, and the government of Osama Hamad, assigned by the House of Representatives in Benghazi.
Libyan-American talks in Benghazi about the regional security and stability