The House of Representatives president Ageela Salah has refuted claims that he is hindering reconciliation in Libya by blocking a vote on the Government of National Accord (GNA). He also said he had nothing to fear from planned sanctions against him.
Salah, speaking to the Benghazi based LANA state news agency yesterday, added that the constitutional Declaration must be respected.
Salah also refuted claims that he prevented a vote on the GNA by not attending HoR sittings saying that he had ‘’attended (HoR) meetings throughout the past months’’. On the contrary, Salah hit back and blamed the failure of the HoR to achieve the needed quorum to be able to vote on the GNA squarely on HoR members who fail to turn up.
On the threat of possible sanctions being imposed on him, Salah said that he had no fear of such sanctions as he did not have any (bank accounts) assets or property in Libya or abroad. He said that the threat to impose sanctions was in fact a form of coercion.
Salah stressed that all HoR members had complete freedom in expressing their views, and that no one could impose their opinion on them or curtail their freedom obtained from the Libyan people.
He also added that he was in support of the GNA on the condition that it is implement within a Constitutional Declaration, stating that the transfer of authority to the GNA requires a constitutional amendment in particular and some special functions of the Government in the House of representatives.
It is worth mentioning that some reports pointed to the possibility of EU sanctions against Ageela Salah and GNC head Nuri Abu Sahmain as spoilers of the reconciliation and the GNA.
The HoR had again failed on Monday and Tuesday this week to vote on the GNA due to the lack of a quorum.
By Sami Zaptia.
