4+4 committee renews election pledge as approval remains contested

Libya’s latest election agreement faces significant obstacles to implementation, with the High Council of State withholding approval and no mechanism specified for forming the unified executive authority required to oversee the vote.

Members of the 4+4 dialogue committee reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement at a meeting in Tunis on Sunday, 20 September. But the political arrangements needed to translate its provisions into national elections remain unsettled.

Signed in Tripoli on 30 August, the pact envisages presidential and parliamentary elections within 24 months under a single executive authority and unified national institutions. It sets out changes to electoral rules and the leadership of the High National Elections Commission, while leaving the formation of that executive authority unresolved.

Disagreement over the process itself presents another obstacle. The heads of the Presidential Council and the High Council of State have challenged an agreement negotiated by representatives of the Government of National Unity and the eastern military leadership, arguing that key political institutions were excluded.

The House of Representatives has endorsed the text. Speaker Aguila Saleh informed UN envoy Hanna Tetteh on 15 September that lawmakers had approved it unanimously at the previous day’s sitting. That endorsement, however, has not secured agreement from the High Council of State.

The pact gives both chambers one month from its signing to approve it. If they cannot agree, it provides for endorsement through a broadly representative national mechanism, followed by efforts to obtain backing through the UN Security Council. This offers an alternative route to approval, but does not establish how a unified government would be formed.

Sunday’s discussions, chaired by Tetteh and her deputy for political affairs, Stephanie Koury, focused on implementation and efforts to widen support. According to the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, participants reviewed reactions to the agreement, including support from the Security Council and the House of Representatives, and agreed to continue consultations with other Libyan parties.

The proposed electoral changes address several disputed issues. Military personnel would be allowed to vote and contest the presidency, while dual nationals could stand provided the winner relinquished any foreign nationality before taking office.

The agreement would also remove the requirement for a presidential run-off if a candidate secured more than half the vote, and separate the results of presidential and parliamentary elections.

These provisions address electoral rules, but their implementation remains bound up with the unresolved disputes over institutional approval and executive authority. The committee is due to meet again in the first week of October.