The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Agila Saleh, confirmed that he is seriously engaged in working to unify state institutions, form a unified national government, and distribute institutions and bodies to the regions of Libya, in accordance with the custom prevailing since the independence of Libya in 1951 until now as well as according to the outcomes of the Berlin Conference and the Cairo Declaration.
Simultaneous Crises
In a statement issued Friday, Saleh expressed his awareness of what the people are suffering from, including the lack of liquidity at banks, electricity outages, and deterioration of services, stressing that the solution to these crises lies in the formation of a single new authority that attains the people’s trust and the support of the international community.
He went on to stress the Parliament’s keenness to build a state of law and institutions to respect the political and civil rights of all citizens and be based on the right to run for office, vote, and participate in decision-making.
Saleh indicated that municipal council elections will take place as soon as possible, and then work will be taken to lay down the constitutional and legal rules for presidential and parliamentary elections within the period specified in the Cairo Declaration.
External Agendas
Saleh stressed that Libya is going through a difficult phase and is under pressure from external and internal agendas aiming at the continuation of chaos in the country and the plunder of its wealth as he described it, referring to the financial distress plaguing the country due to what he described as the armed militias’ control of the Central Bank of Libya and Al-Sarraj government, which prevented people from obtaining even the lowest daily requirements in a country that is considered one of the richest countries.
He also referred to foreign interference and the division of state institutions that led to the deterioration of the living and service conditions of the citizens, adding that the Libyan government headed by Abdullah Al-Thinni did not get anything from oil and gas revenues, according to the statement.
Immediate Investigation
Saleh said that, in response to the citizens’ demands, he invited the government and its affiliated bodies to meet to address the realization of the legitimate demands of the citizens and to find out the causes of deficiencies, shortcomings and delays in providing the citizens’ needs, stressing that the necessary measures should be taken to put matters right according to his description.
“The Administrative Control Authority will tackle suspicions of corruption raised by the protesters, and the results shall be announced as soon as possible to clarify the obstacles and problems encountered by the government in carrying out its duties, in order for the citizen to help the authority and cooperate with it when it is known that it is working for the public interest and the people participate in all stages of development.” Saleh said.
Ceasefire
In his statement, Saleh reiterated the ceasefire announced in Cairo and the keenness to distribute wealth fairly and work to get out mercenaries and dismantle armed militias. He also indicated that the armed forces preserve public property and work to protect them, stressing their commitment to the ceasefire, stressing their readiness to respond to any “aggression” or breach by any party at any time.
The meeting of Morocco was not for the purpose of distributing positions among people as it is rumored, but rather to divide the sovereign institutions over the regions of Libya, and the Presidential Council and the government will be on this basis, to ensure that no region of the homeland is marginalized.
The Right to Demonstrate
Commenting on the recent protests and demonstrations in a number of Libyan cities, Saleh said that the right to peaceful protest is a constitutional right, and clarifies the rights of citizens to express their views, provided that no attack on public and private property is involved.
