President of Libyan House of Representatives: Presidential Election Only Solution

President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh. Reuters
President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh. Reuters
TT

President of Libyan House of Representatives: Presidential Election Only Solution

President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh. Reuters
President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh. Reuters

President of the Libyan House of Representatives Aguila Saleh has called for holding presidential elections as being the only solution to end the country’s bitter conflict for many years now.

In a TV interview on Saturday, Saleh said that those who are opposing these elections "want to remain in power."

He also considered that the continuation of the conflict is "a deliberate conspiracy that creates an excuse for external interventions in Libya’s internal affairs and violates the sovereignty and independence of the state” and urged to unite ranks to end the crisis faced by the country.

Saleh stressed that the elections will “bring all parties out of the scene in a peaceful and democratic way, without falling into a political vacuum and a new conflict.”

“The unification of institutions and the formation of a national government that will meet all citizens' requirements will enable the House of Representatives to monitor and hold them accountable,” he said, adding that Libyans should hold the deputies accountable for not attending the meetings.

Also, armed clashes in the Libyan capital have left 115 killed and 560 injured since August 27 and up until September 22, the field hospital of the Injured Affairs Department reported. It added that 17 persons are still missing due to the clashes.

"The killed are both civilian and military individuals in addition to foreign workers and unidentified persons. There are 383 injured whose cases are between serious and medium while 117 others have simple injuries." the hospital explained in an official statement.

The Department added that 156 families had been evacuated from different clashes' zones and 264 others were given lifesaving aids.

Reuters reported that armed groups from outside Tripoli launched an assault on the capital in late August amid unease over reports of the wealthy and extravagant lifestyles of some Tripoli militia commanders.

At the Frontline in Tripoli’s southern residential areas of Wadi Rabea and Fatma Zahra, shelled houses, torched vehicles, destroyed shops and deserted streets attest to the intensity of the clashes.

The fighting has knocked out most power stations in the city and crippled Tripoli’s main airport, Reuters added.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.