Libyan speaker’s call for new constitution panel draws fire

By Mohamed Eritma
TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – Libya’s constitution-drafting assembly warned Tuesday that the formation of a new panel will worsen the country’s crisis.

Libyan Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh called on Monday for forming a new assembly of 30 experts representing Libya’s three regions to draft a “consensual” constitution within a one-month period.

“The assembly rejects Saleh’s proposal because it contradicts the constitutional declaration,” the assembly’s chief, al-Jilani Arhoma, told Anadolu Agency.

He warned that the proposal “will drag the country into further escalation”.

"The final say is for the Libyan people through a referendum only,” Arhoma stressed.

Assembly member Nadia Omran, for her part, considered Saleh’s proposal as an attempt to “waste more time”.

“It is an attempt to waste time in order to remain in power and prevent the drafting of a constitution and holding elections,” Omran told Anadolu Agency.

Libya’s presidential elections were scheduled to take place on Dec. 24 under a UN roadmap, but were postponed over disagreements among the country’s political rivals. No new date for the vote has yet been agreed.

Libyans hope that the upcoming elections will contribute to ending the armed conflict that has plagued the oil-rich country for years.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat in Ankara