BENGHAZI, Libya: Libya's internationally recognised
parliament, which was forced out of the capital by factional violence,
failed to vote for a unity government this week, but a majority of
members restated their support and urged it to start work.
The parliament's approval is a vital part of a U.N.-backed
plan to reconcile the administration set up by the recognised parliament
in Libya's far east with an alliance that took over Tripoli in 2014 and
declared its own government and assembly.
As Prime Minister Fayez Seraj starts to set up government in
a capital still dominated by various armed brigades, the eastern
parliament has yet to say it will take part, with uncertainties over
future control of the military a major concern.
After the latest push to secure a vote collapsed amid
recriminations, a group of pro-GNA lawmakers, who say they number just
over 100, a majority, issued a statement backing the unity government
late on Thursday.
They urged it to swear an oath in front of the parliament by the end of next week in a location to be determined.
The West sees the Government of National Accord (GNA),
formed under a deal agreed in December, as the best chance to end
political turmoil since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 that
led to a rise in factional fighting and Islamist militancy, and are
urging the eastern parliament to agree.
But politicians close to Libya's eastern armed forces and
its powerful commander, Khalifa Haftar, have blocked a vote, saying they
want to protect the military's future role.
Haftar's forces have made significant gains in the eastern
city of Benghazi, where they launched a campaign against Islamist groups
and other opponents two years ago.
In their statement, the pro-GNA members of the eastern House
of Representatives renewed a call to amend the U.N.-mediated deal,
cancelling a clause that would transfer military appointments to the new
administration.
The GNA leadership and the United Nations have urged the
eastern parliament to adopt the deal in its entirety. Under the plan,
the eastern parliament would share lawmaking duties with a second
chamber comprising of members of the rival parliament that was set up in
its absence.
U.N. envoy Martin Kobler, who was in the east earlier this
week to lobby members of parliament, expressed his "profound
disappointment" at the failure to vote, saying in a statement:
"I find it regrettable that yet again a clear majority of
members of the House of Representatives are denied the opportunity to
exercise their intrinsic democratic right as elected representatives of
the Libyan people."
(Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
- Reuters
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