Libyan National Unity Government to be Announced in Skhirat

Rabat- According to a reliable diplomatic source to Asharq Al-Awsat, today is expected to be the day for announcing a national unity government in Skhirat Resort, located in the Moroccan capital, Rabat; unless, something delays the event.

He added that the Libyan Dialogue Commission members were expected to arrive from Tunisia on Saturday evening to discuss the latest proposals for a national unity government, which will be reached by the Presidency Council, before the latter later sends it to the House of Representatives, which is internationally known as (Tobruk Parliament), for approval.

The head of Presidency Council, prime minister-designate Faiez al-Sarraj, has earlier called for a meeting with members of the Libyan Dialogue in Skhirat, Morocco.

In a letter to the Dialogue, Serraj said he wanted the Dialogue to look at the latest, slimmed-down, proposed cabinet before sending it to the House of Representatives (HoR) for approval.

The Libyan Political Agreement is now officially part of Libyan legislation. After it was signed in Skhirat in December, the Libyan parliament or House of Representatives (HoR) adopted it in January with one reservation related to Article 8 of the Agreement’s additional provisions.

By taking this pivotal step, the HoR made the overdue United Nations-backed Political Agreement part and parcel of the Libyan Constitutional Declaration, the temporary constitution governing the remaining transitional period in Libya.

The Political Agreement created two new additional governing institutions: the Government of National Accord (GNA), composed of a Presidential Council of nine members and a cabinet of ministers; and the High Council of State (HCS), derived from the remnant General National Congress (GNC). Perhaps most importantly, the Political Agreement renewed the legitimacy of the HoR as the sole legislative authority of the country.

However, while adopting the agreement, the HoR also simultaneously rejected the cabinet proposed by Mr. Al-Sarraj, the head of the Presidency Council.

The parliament neither published its decision nor the reasoning behind it; however, according to media speculation, it was due to the composition of the proposed government, particularly its expansion to 32 ministers. Some HoR representatives added that the proposed cabinet lacked expertise.