Vote on illegitimate constitutional amendment: member of the Libyan State Council

The vote on the 13th amendment to the text of the new Libyan constitution was legally invalid, a member of the country’s Supreme State Council, Belqasem Dabris, said on March 3, according to the Libyan channel The Libya Observer.

According to Dubris, the vote is legally invalid for two reasons. First, because the Libyan parliament had already published the text of the amendment in its official gazette before the vote in the Supreme Council of State. Secondly, because the voting rules were not observed.

According to the regulations of the Supreme Council of State of Libya, the session must have a quorum two hours before voting time. The meeting was supposed to start at 11:00 a.m. local time, but as of 1:00 p.m., only 61 members participated in the council meeting. In addition, to maintain a quorum, 68 members of the Council of State had to participate in the meeting.

According to Dabris, despite this, Khaled Mishri continued the meeting, in which 53 members of the total present voted, and this was a violation of the regulations of the Supreme Council of State of Libya.

Let us remember that the 13th amendment to the text of the new Libyan constitution is necessary for the simultaneous holding of presidential and parliamentary elections, and also regulates the powers of the country’s political institutions.

Source: Rossa Primavera