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Libyan Constitutional Committee agrees to hold constitutional referendum

Daily News Egypt
Daily News Egypt
3 Min Read
Libyan Constitutional Committee agrees to hold constitutional referendum
Libyan Constitutional Committee agrees to hold constitutional referendum

The Libyan Constitutional Committee has agreed to hold a constitutional referendum before the general elections on 24 December, the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.

The committee, formed of representatives from the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State, concluded its agreement during a meeting, on Wednesday, in the Egyptian Red Sea town of Hurghada.

“The members of both houses agreed to hold a referendum on the constitutional proposal drafted by the Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA), based on Law No 6 of 2018 amended by Law No 1 of 2019,” the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.

The members also agreed that “Article 6 of Law No 6 should be amended to adjust the threshold for adopting the constitution”, UNSMIL added.

Further to this, the participants agreed to resume their discussions in Hurghada from 9 to 11 February. They will invite the High National Elections Commission to attend and participate in their discussion on the implementation of the referendum, UNSMIL said.

UNSMIL commended the two delegations “on their fruitful deliberation within the framework of the Roadmap agreed by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF)”. It pledged to engage with “all relevant stakeholders to support the electoral process leading to a democratic and stable Libya”. The UN body also thanked the Egyptian authorities for their generous hosting of this meeting.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Libyan committee began its second meeting to discuss the constitutional arrangements necessary to hold elections on 24 December 2021. The meeting was held under the sponsorship of the UN.

Two delegations from Libya’s House of Representatives and the High Council of State took part in the discussions, with each party sending 10 members.

In his opening remarks on Tuesday, the head of Egypt’s national committee on Libyan affairs called on the Libyan rivals to set aside their differences in order to end the long-time crisis.

For elections to be held, a new and reformed Presidency Council must be formed, along with an effective and unified Government of National Unity (GNA).

Egypt has hosted several meetings relating to the Libyan crisis in Cairo and Hurghada over the past few months, as part of its efforts to help resolve the conflict in the neighbouring country.

In October 2020, a permanent and complete ceasefire agreement was signed by the rival Libyan parties, following UN-facilitated talks in Geneva. The ceasefire agreement has paved the way for LPDF that was launched from Tunisia in November.

 

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Feature: Century-old Suez Canal bears witness to vicissitudes of Egyptians being trapped and salvaged "Remember that you are not merely shifting earth, you are bringing prosperity to both your families and this beautiful land," the groundbreaker Ferdinand de Lesseps, former French vice-consul in Egypt's Alexandria, told Egyptian workers rallied around him at the ceremony. What unfolded afterward, however, proved his speech was yet another hollow promise by Western colonizers. A cargo ship travels on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Province, Egypt, Jan. 13, 2024. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) In the ensuing years, 120,000 Egyptians toiled to death during the excavation. After the completion of the canal, Britain and France, scheming to control the vital maritime trade route, employed debt traps and even resorted to warfare against Egypt, plunging its populace into a century-long misery. "Perhaps in the eyes of others, the canal is just a trade route, but for Egyptians, blood and tears flow there," recalled Wael Kaddour, who had served as a board member of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority. "It's part of our lives," said the 80-year-old man. HOLLOW PROMISE Thursday marked the 165th anniversary of the Suez Canal's excavation. The story of the canal began in 1854 when Mohamed Said, the ruler of Egypt, granted de Lesseps the concession to set up a company to build the canal and to operate it for 99 years before giving back its ownership to Egypt. The concession stipulated that Egypt ceded the rights to dig and manage the canal to the Universal Company of the Maritime Canal of Suez founded by de Lesseps while providing the land and four-fifths of the labor force for the canal project at no cost. A large ship travels on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Province, Egypt, Jan. 13, 2024. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) To raise the 200 million francs needed for the canal's excavation, de Lesseps's company split the funds into 400,000 shares available for public purchase. However, just over half of these shares were bought, with Egypt acquiring less than 100,000 shares. None of the shares allocated for Britain, the United States, Austria, and Russia found buyers. The French, keen to ensure the success of the Suez Canal project, encouraged Egyptians to purchase the remaining shares. However, given Egypt's already strained finances, it seemed impossible to afford such a substantial amount. Said had no choice but to borrow large sums from Britain and France at exorbitant interest rates. This marked the start of Egypt's gradual fall into a carefully designed debt trap laid out by Western powers. As the excavation progressed, costs soared, leaving Egypt with no choice but to keep borrowing from Britain and France. Egyptian railways, land, and even future canal revenues were all pledged as collateral to European nations. By the time the canal was completed, Egypt's financial situation was on the brink of collapse. European capital has largely swallowed up the Egyptian peasant economy. Enormous tracts of land, labor, and numerous labor products, have ultimately been converted into European capital and have been accumulated, wrote Polish-German political theoretician Rosa Luxemburg. From the inception of canal construction until the mid-1870s, Egypt's external debts increased 23 times, while revenues increased only five times. The debt service absorbed two-thirds of state revenues. In 1876, Egypt, overwhelmed by its rapidly accumulating debt, declared bankruptcy. Seizing the opportunity, British creditors moved to claim Egypt's shares in the Suez Canal, and Western powers took full control of the canal without firing a single shot. MILESTONE TOWARD NATION INDEPENDENCE Despite the loss of several friends and relatives in the war sparked by the canal's nationalization, Kaddour said he still took pride in former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's decision made 68 years ago. The nationalization of the Suez Canal has changed the destiny of Egypt, he said. A vessel is seen on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Province, Egypt, on Jan. 3, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) In 1952, Egyptian military officers led by Nasser staged a revolution, overthrowing the pro-Western monarchy, and the following year witnessed the establishment of the Republic of Egypt. On July 26, 1956, 100,000 Egyptians gathered at Liberation Square in Alexandria to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the revolution. Before the cheering crowd, Nasser declared that he had signed into law the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company on that very day. "We shall not let imperialists or exploiters dominate us. We shall not let history repeat itself once more," he said. Nasser's decision to nationalize the Suez Canal challenged the core interests of Britain and France. Following unsuccessful diplomatic coercion and persuasion, Britain and France decided to ally with Israel, which was then at odds with Egypt, to launch a war and seize control of the Suez Canal. As the war unfolded, to prevent the Suez Canal from falling back into the hands of Western powers, the Egyptian people scuttled dozens of ships in the canal to block its passage. Ultimately, under the pressure of global condemnation and the Egyptian people's unwavering determination to defend the canal, the aggressors backed down and withdrew from Egypt. FUTURE WITH GLOBAL SOUTH Nowadays, the Suez Canal stands as a vital artery for global commerce. During its busiest periods, approximately 30 percent of the world's container traffic and over 1 million barrels of oil traverse this waterway daily. 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Feature: Century-old Suez Canal bears witness to vicissitudes of Egyptians being trapped and salvaged
Egypt