Al-Jehani says 86 MPs seek internal democratic reform and a new House leadership
Libya – House of Representatives member Issam Al-Jehani accused the House leadership, represented by Speaker Aguila Saleh and his two deputies, of using military force and the “Presidential Guard” to shut the parliament building in Benghazi and stop MPs from holding a session, saying their aim was to amend the internal rules, rotate power and elect a new leadership.
Al-Jehani’s account of the closure
Speaking to Turkey-based Libya Al-Ahrar TV, in remarks followed by Al-Marsad, Al-Jehani said the incident was not the first and described it as an abuse of power and “thuggery”. He claimed the House leadership told Diwan staff to stay at home that day and the next, and sent word to the General Command and the General Staff that “thugs and infiltrators” were heading to the building, while those approaching, he said, were MPs seeking to convene a session.
He said the episode involved only three cars, urged the media not to exaggerate it, and said those who closed the building had been detained. He added that, on his reading of the internal rules, the Presidential Guard is meant to protect House members — two guards per MP — not the Speaker or the leadership alone. Security personnel, he said, carry out orders, and he held Saleh and his deputies fully responsible for the closure. He said the army and command had been brought in to handle the security side, while responsibility for using force and blocking the sitting rested with the House leadership.
Dispute over the right to call sessions
Responding to remarks denying that a session had been scheduled, Al-Jehani said he had read reports that 72 MPs were present and described the person who denied a sitting as speaking for Aguila Saleh rather than for the House. He said the rules allow ten members to sign a call for the Monday and Tuesday sessions if the Speaker deliberately blocks them, and criticised remarks by some MPs that he said showed a poor grasp of the text.
He said 86 MPs were demanding reform and a democratic process inside the House, and that the Speaker had become a party to the dispute while still managing it, urging him to join reform rather than push matters onto paths Al-Jehani called dangerous and linked to national security. The MPs’ move, he added, was not about blocs or personal enmity, and the House had been stalled for some time, citing two sessions in Ramadan and two statements announced at a news conference in the chamber.
Criticism of unilateral decisions and reform demands
Al-Jehani accused the leadership of running the House like “a company and a board”, saying citizens do not distinguish the House as an institution from its leadership, and rejected casting the call for change as a plot against Saleh. He said he did not want to load the House alone with responsibility for the exceptional conditions of the past 12 years, nor the leadership with all of it, but argued that most of the bad decisions had come from Saleh’s inner circle and those around him.
He singled out the tax decision, saying Saleh had admitted taking it alone, and criticised the Central Bank of Libya governor’s response to him away from the parliamentary chamber. Reform demands, he stressed, were tied to the principles he said the February Revolution stood for, aiming to amend the internal rules and hand responsibility to another elected body — a goal he hoped could be achieved within a year or two.
On reforming the parliamentary cycle, he called for electing a new leadership for six or eight months for what he described as the remaining life of the House, to oversee general elections and the handover of power. He claimed the current leadership’s continuation would block elections and political understandings, including the “4+4” track, and said some were also obstructing the High State Council. He accused the leadership of not wanting to hand over power and noted popular calls for MPs to resign.
Threats and a media campaign, on his account
Al-Jehani said MPs were receiving individual calls and messages with personal and moral threats to deter them from reform efforts, and that a media campaign was being waged against them. He vowed to reveal within the following two days “surprises” and abuses he described as reaching the level of “criminality”, while affirming that the demand to reform the House would continue.
