Hard constitutional quorum and calls to activate parliamentary work
Libya – House of Representatives member Abdelmoneim Al-Arofi said 103 MPs had endorsed the “4+4” committee deal with their names and signatures, adding that enshrining it in the Constitutional Declaration through the 14th constitutional amendment requires a quorum of 111 MPs, which he said is hard to reach amid current divisions.
House members’ participation in the committee
Speaking in remarks to Sputnik, Al-Arofi said there were no objections inside the House to the participation of two of its members on the committee, arguing that endorsement of the deal means their status as representatives of the chamber should not be in dispute.
He added that any objections should have been raised from the outset, not after the deal was approved in its final form.
He said repeated controversy over how committee members are chosen in the House and the High State Council can sometimes be used as a pretext to obstruct or prolong the track.
He stressed that the MPs on the committee hold membership of the House, and that debate over whether they were chosen by vote, consensus or other means must not divide the chamber or affect the committee’s work and path.
Unifying institutions and the limits of the committee’s role
Al-Arofi said unifying state institutions is among the main tasks of the “4+4”, noting there were no guarantees it would turn into a parallel political track to the House and State Council or take on wide powers, especially regarding the Presidential Council or the executive authority, as he put it.
Obstacle of the constitutional amendment
He said enshrining the deal comes in the context of moving beyond the “6+6” committee track and towards forming an executive authority, considering that the only remaining obstacle is incorporating the deal through the 14th constitutional amendment.
He added that the required quorum of 111 MPs is out of reach for now while divisions continue.
Objections over the agenda and working methods
He said part of the objections inside the House relate to the agenda and how the chamber works, not to members’ participation in the “4+4”, noting that MPs are calling for the parliamentary role to be activated and for changes to the presidency and committee memberships.
