Ben Zair: December’s presidential election is a serious threat

“Can direct presidential elections be held in the absence of a constitution that specifies the form of government – parliamentary, presidential, mixed, basic, or composite – as well as the relationship between the three legislative, executive, and judicial powers?” asked Dr. Ben Zair.

“What is stopping the proposed Legislative Council of 200 representatives from different regions of Libya from electing the President? Are the elections to be held through parties or without them? Are all existing Libyan parties legitimate?” he continued.

And, according to Dr. Ben Zair, the direct election of the President, which is widely discussed globally, poses a “serious threat” in the absence of objective criteria for success, such as sufficient security and social consensus, which could have serious implications that we must prevent by electing the President through the Legislative Council. ”

Ben Zair concluded: “We therefore believe that elections should be limited only to the election of a Legislative Council and with the same legal basis as the current Parliament was elected in 2014.”

Libya’s upcoming national elections scheduled for December of this year to elect the country’s first unified government in years is the outcome of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, a UN-led effort to aid in bringing Libya out of its state of fragmentation and chaos.