Dabaiba and Takala's positions differ on the course of the elections in Libya

The area of disagreement expanded within the political scene in western Libya regarding the path to the postponed elections, after the head of the interim “National Unity” government, Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, expressed support for the path of the “4+4” mini-dialogue committee, at a time when the head of the “Supreme Council of State” Mohamed Takala renewed his adherence to the constitutional path and the referendum on the draft constitution completed in 2017.

According to observers, the two positions reflect a disagreement that goes beyond the procedural details of the elections, to a broader question related to the arrangement that should govern the next stage: Should we start by providing the political and legal framework for holding the elections, as the “4+4” agreement suggests? Or by completing the constitutional entitlement by presenting the draft constitution to the Libyans for a referendum before moving to permanent institutions?

During a meeting he held, on Tuesday evening, with active political and social figures from the city of Misrata, Dabaiba gave an implicit indication of his approval of the “4+4” agreement between the two ruling parties in eastern and western Libya, considering it “compatible with his government’s vision of going to elections, ending the transitional stages, and crossing over to a stable and permanent political stage,” according to a statement issued by his office.

He went on to say that “the vision is clear that the decision will be for the Libyan people through elections that end the state of division and grant institutions their true legitimacy from the will of the citizens,” stressing the rejection of arrangements that would reproduce existing political stages and bodies.

Dabaiba’s position comes after the “4+4” committee signed its agreement on August 30 at the headquarters of the United Nations mission in Tripoli, in the presence of representatives of the House of Representatives, the State House, the Presidential Council and ambassadors, and under the auspices of the UN envoy Hannah Tetteh.

The agreement stipulates addressing the outstanding issues in the constitutional and legal framework for the elections, restructuring the Council of the High Electoral Commission, and setting a time frame for holding the presidential and parliamentary elections within a period not exceeding 24 months, while resolving the issue of the candidacy of dual nationals and military personnel.

The National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, previously welcomed the agreement, which was sponsored by Massad Boulos, the US President’s senior advisor for African affairs, who is leading a movement focused on unifying institutions and advancing the electoral process, at a time when the United Nations seeks to expand the support base for the agreement and communicate with other political parties.

On the other hand, Takala brought the constitution file back to the forefront of the political scene during his meeting, on Tuesday evening, in Tripoli with the head of the Constituent Assembly for Drafting the Constitution, Maraji Nouh, stressing the council’s keenness to communicate with the body as it is the elected body competent to draft the constitution.

Takala stressed the importance of completing constitutional entitlements and enabling Libyans to exercise their right to choose their constitutional system through a free and fair referendum, while the meeting discussed ways to overcome the political impasse and reach an agreed upon constitutional base that paves the way for holding national elections.

The Constituent Assembly for Drafting the Constitution was elected in 2014, and completed the draft constitution in July 2017, but it has not been put to a referendum yet, so the dispute remains over the priority of referendum on it or adopting a temporary constitutional rule that paves the way for elections.

Takala’s position recalls a previous dispute over the “4+4” agreement, when he rejected the path as not based, from his point of view, on an adequate institutional framework, and called for adherence to the constitutional and legal path and coordination with the House of Representatives.

The differing positions of Al-Dabaiba and Takala reveal a broader disagreement within the political institutions in Tripoli regarding how to transform political understandings into an implementable electoral path. The two parties agree in principle to end the transitional phase and hold elections, but they differ on the political and legal framework that should lead to it.