Aguila Saleh: All progress will be lost if Libyan elections are postponed

Aguila Saleh, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, told Reuters that he does not want more fragmentation and violence in his home country of Libya.

During the interview, he said, “If the elections are postponed, we will be back to square one,” implying a new parallel administration in the east.

“The President continues to be the one who decides on foreign forces and mercenaries in the nation,” Saleh said, adding that foreign interference has made it harder to unite the army.

Last month, a senior US official stated that Turkey and Russia, both of which back opposing groups in Libya, had struck a preliminary agreement to cooperate toward the objective of evacuating 300 Syrian mercenaries from the combat zone.

Saleh, on his part, claimed that the Government of National Unity had failed to unite Libyan institutions and had devolved into the “Tripoli Government,” demanding that it adhere to the pledges made by the previous two governments.

“We have a constitutional declaration, we don’t need to turn around and waste time, we don’t need to compromise,” he continued.

He went on to say that the government’s proposed budget of 100 billion dinars ($22.15 billion) is quite high and that he expects parliament to adopt a number of 80 billion dinars.

The elections are widely seen as a vital step in restoring peace to Libya, which has been in turmoil for more than a decade.

After fighting between warring parties, a UN-led peace process resulted in a ceasefire agreement last year, and the Government of National Unity was created in February and confirmed by parliament in March.