Tripoli-based parliament not to send names of candidates till after deal amendments

The Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) stressed on Thursday that it will not recommend any names to the agreed-upon power sharing government accord until after some amendments are introduced to the UN-brokered draft deal.

Awad Magbari, deputy chairman of the congress and head its delegation to the UN-brokered negotiations with the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, said the GNC delegation will head for New York with amendments in hand.

He added that in case the draft amendments were approved, the Congress will send recommended names within 12 hours.

The statements came one day after UN envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon made it clear that no amendments to the UN-brokered draft agreement will be introduced.

The deal would lead to the formation of a national unity government with hope to oust militants and end unrest that has been gripping Libya since 2011.

Libya descended into chaos and bloodshed following the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.

In the four years since, the country’s stark political divisions have produced two rival seats of government, one in Tripoli which is and one in Tobruk, each of which boasts its own political institutions and military capacities.

After months of negotiations sponsored by the UN, the two rivals agreed to reach a deal and form a government by October 20 as the mandate of the internationally-recognized parliament based in Tobruk would expire.

Source: AFP