Politics of Libya
The politics of Libya has been in an uncertain state since the collapse of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 2011 and a recent civil war and various jihadists and tribal elements controlling parts of the country.[1] On 10 March 2021, the interim Government of National Unity (GNU), unifying the Second Al-Thani Cabinet and the Government of National Accord was formed, only to face new opposition in Government of National Stability, until Libyan Political Dialogue Forum assured the ongoing ceasefire.
Libyan Political Agreement (2015) & Political Atmosphere post-2015[edit]
Members of that House of Representatives and the New General National Congress signed a political agreement on 18 December 2015.[2] Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidential Council and a seventeen-member interim Government of National Accord was formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years.[2] The House of Representatives would continue to exist as a legislature and an advisory body, to be known as the State Council, was formed with members nominated by the New General National Congress.[3]
This attempt at unification was unsuccessful, as three competing governments still remained by the end of 2016,[4] disputes between which continuing until the formation of the GNU in 2015. Still, even with the establishment of this governmental structure, widespread human rights abuses exist throughout the country to this day; this is due to the lack of a central government to regulate the ten years of conflict that ensued after Gaddafi's reign.[5] However, the country has made some democratic progress: Libya's score was trending upwards from 2011 to 2013 on the PolityIV authority trends scale, increasing from a -7 to a 1,[6] shifting its categorization from “autocracy” to “anocracy.”[7]
House of Representatives[edit]
The House of Representatives was formed following June 2014 elections, when the General National Congress formed as a transitional body after the Libyan Revolution dissolved. However, Islamists fared poorly in the low-turnout elections,[8] and members of the Islamist-led GNC reconvened in August 2014, refusing to recognise the new parliament dominated by secularist and federalist lawmakers.[9] Supporters of the New General National Congress swiftly seized control of Tripoli, Libya's constitutional capital, forcing the newly elected parliament into virtual exile in Tobruk, near the Egyptian border.[10] The House of Representatives enjoys widespread international recognition as Libya's official government. However, the Tripoli-based Supreme Court declared it illegal and voided the results of the election in November 2014. The court ruling was hailed by the GNC and its backers, but it was rejected as invalid by the House of Representatives and its loyalists.[11][12]
Against this backdrop of division, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Ansar al-Sharia, as well as other militant groups both religious and tribal in nature, have seized control of several cities and districts across Libya, especially in Cyrenaica, which is theoretically under the control of the Tobruk-based government.[13][14][15] A number of commentators have described Libya as a failed state or suggested it is on the verge of failure.[16][17][18][19]
Changes after the 2011 Civil War[edit]
Political parties were banned in Libya from 1972 until the removal of Gaddafi's government, and all elections were nonpartisan under law. However, during the revolution, the National Transitional Council (NTC), a body formed on 27 February 2011 by anti-Gaddafi forces to act as the "political face of the revolution", made the introduction of multiparty democracy a cornerstone of its agenda. In June 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said his father would agree to internationally monitored general elections, and would step down if he lost them, but his offer was refused by the rebels and ignored by the UN Security Council.[30]
On 8 March, the NTC issued a statement in which it declared itself to be the "sole representative all over Libya".[31]
The council formed an interim governing body on 23 March. As of 20 October 100 countries declared full support to the council by severing all relations with Gaddafi's rule and recognizing the National Transitional Council as the rightful representative of Libya.
On 3 August 2011, the NTC issued a Constitutional Declaration which declared the statehood of Libya as a democracy with Islam as its state religion, in which the state guarantees the rule of law and an independent judiciary as well as civic and human basic rights (including freedom of religion and women's rights), and which contains provisions for a phase of transition to a presidential republic with an elected national assembly and a democratically legitimized constitution by 2013. Vice Chairman Abdul Hafiz Ghoga declared Libya to be "liberated" on 23 October 2011, announcing an official end to the war. Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Libya would become an Islamic democracy in the wake of Gaddafi's death, though the extent of Islamic law's influence would be determined by elected lawmakers.[32] Ghoga later confirmed that Libya will continue to adhere to all international agreements to which it was signatory prior to the uprising.[33]
On 7 July 2012 an election was held for the General National Congress (GNC) to replace the NTC. There were 2,501 candidates for the 200 seats – 136 for political parties and 64 for independent candidates. About 300 candidates' views were considered unacceptable and removed from candidates list, suspected of sympathizing with the defeated forces of the Jamahiriya. Accreditation centers have also been organized in European cities with larger Libyan communities like Berlin and Paris, in order to allow Libyan nationals there to cast their vote.[34] On 8 August 2012 the NTC officially dissolved and transferred power to the General National Congress.