Libya’s elected Parliament yesterday voted to stay in United Nations peace talks after calling for amendments to a proposed power-sharing deal which was aimed at ending the conflict between the country’s two rival governments.
Western governments are pushing the two factions to agree to the UN deal as the only way to end a crisis that threatens to split the North African Opec state four years after an uprising ousted strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
An internationally recognised government and elected House of Representatives operates in the east, while a self-declared government and the re-instated former parliament known as the General National Congress, or GNC, holds the capital, Tripoli.
“The House of Representatives agreed on amendments of the last draft by the UN with 66 out of 76 members voting,” lawmaker Tareq al-Jouroushi said yesterday.
However the internationally recognised government has called for amendments to a proposed power-sharing deal
Libya has been sliding deeper into chaos, worrying Western powers who fear it will become a failed state just over the Mediterranean sea from mainland Europe. Militants allied to Islamic State have also gained ground in the chaos.
After months of negotiations in Europe, Algeria and Morocco, the UN talks are at a delicate stage, with fighting continuing on the ground.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives was split on whether to continue with the UN negotiations after disagreements surfaced over parts of the power-sharing accord, which calls for the creation of a second chamber.
Jourousi said HOR amendments included watering down the powers of the proposed second body and also making its membership more balanced between the two factions.
A GNC lawmaker told Reuters their negotiating team planned to head back to Morocco for another round of talks this week. It also had its own amendments to the draft. The UN proposal calls for a one-year-long government of national accord, where a council of ministers headed by a prime minister with two deputies will have executive authority.
It says that the House of Representatives will be the legislative body, but a 120-member State Council consultative body will also be created and 90 members will come from the Tripoli GNC congress.