Al-Jazeera correspondent in Libya reported that the Supreme Council of State approved the presidential and legislative elections laws, which are scheduled to be held on December 24, amid a wide international desire for the success of these elections.
The Council had approved - by a majority of 49 votes - the constitutional base for the legislative and executive authorities, on the basis of which the elections are to be held, while two members abstained from voting.
The constitutional rule stipulates that the National Assembly shall assume the legislative authority in Libya for a period of 4 years, and that it shall consist of two chambers: one for the House of Representatives and the other for the Senate.
The constitutional rule requires that an applicant for the position of head of state not be a member of the military, or that two years have passed since his resignation from military service before submitting an application for candidacy.
Yesterday, Saturday, the High National Elections Commission in Libya announced the registration of 10,729 residents abroad to vote in the elections.
The commission added - in a statement - that the total registered voters in the electoral system amounted to two million and 856 thousand and 624 male and female voters inside and outside the country.
Al-Jazeera correspondent Suhaib Jassem said in Tripoli that there is a clear international desire for the success of these elections, noting that the main point of contention is what is related to the condition of the military's candidacy for the presidency.
It is noteworthy that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received - last Thursday - the head of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, a day after he received retired Major General Khalifa Haftar and Parliament Speaker Aqila Saleh, amid news of a meeting that brought together the Libyan parties in Cairo under Egyptian auspices.
In this context, the UN envoy to Libya, Jan Kubis, stressed the need for the State and Parliament to agree on electoral laws in Libya and not to take any unilateral steps.
In turn, the President of the Supreme Council of State, Khaled Al-Mashri, announced - today, Sunday - his keenness to hold the parliamentary and presidential elections on time, during his meeting in Tripoli with the Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Buccino and Nicola Orlando, the Italian Foreign Minister’s envoy, according to a statement by the Council’s media office.
Libya is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on December 24, according to the agreement of the Political Dialogue Forum, which was held in Tunisia on November 15.
For months, Libya has witnessed a political breakthrough;
On March 16, an elected transitional authority - comprising a unity government and a presidential council - assumed its duties to lead the country to elections, after Libya suffered years of armed conflict over legitimacy and power in the oil-rich country.