Libya to hold elections if referendum not held

ISTANBUL

The Libyan Constitutional Committee agreed on conducting parliamentary and presidential elections in the war-torn country in case the constitutional referendum cannot be held, a committee member said Friday.

Omar Boshah was quoted by Libyan Alahrar TV as saying that they will hold elections if a popular referendum on a new Constitution cannot be held.

Three days of meetings for Libya’s constitutional track kicked off Tuesday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada. This was the third round of talks.

In a previous January meeting, the committee agreed the new Constitution may be approved with a simple majority exceeding 50% of the votes.

The committee consists of 10 members of both Libya’s High Council of State and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives.

Earlier this month, Libya’s rival political groups agreed to form an interim unity government after five days of UN-led talks in Switzerland.

Mohammad Younes Menfi was elected president of the interim setup with Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as prime minister. Mossa Al-Koni and Abdullah Hussein Al-Lafi were also voted on the three-man presidency.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

* Ahmed Asmar in Ankara contributed to this report