Libya's High Council of State approved the thirteenth amendment to the Constitutional Declaration of 2011, which was approved by the House of Representatives in early February.

The council held an emergency session chaired by Khaled Al-Mishri on Thursday, which ended with a majority vote of the members present.

It was also agreed to start forming a committee to draft electoral laws to be approved during its next session.

The emergency session comes days after UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily announced an initiative to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya, including the formation of a "high-level steering committee" for the elections. Bathily's announcement came after he spoke of the failure of the House of Representatives and the council to agree on a constitutional basis for the elections.

The House of Representatives released a statement rejecting Bathily's comments, saying that they contained "inaccuracies" and accused him of a double-standards. Al-Mishri described Bathily's proposal as dangerous.

Amendment

The thirteenth constitutional amendment contains 34 articles regarding Libya's system of government, which according to Article 1, will now consist of a legislative authority with two chambers and an executive authority headed by a president directly elected by the people.

Legislative Branch

The legislative authority will be called the “National Assembly” and will be comprised of the House of Representatives, which will be based in Benghazi, and a Senate seated in Tripoli.

The amendment also defines the legislative competencies of the two chambers and the method and conditions for candidacy and elections for them.

Executive Branch

As for the executive authority, it will be headed by a president directly elected by the people. The president will be responsible for appointing or dismissing the prime minister. The amendment also defines the functions of the executive authority, its tasks, and the method of accountability.

Transition to Elections

Article 31 stipulates that the election of a National Assembly and a president must take place within a maximum period of 240 days from the approval of electoral laws.

A committee of 12 members, comprising six members from the House of Representatives and six from the High Council of State will be formed to prepare a referendum and election laws. A two-thirds majority of the members of each house will be required to proceed for final approval.

After committee passage, the House of Representatives would then hold an up or down vote, without the ability to modify the proposal.

The article adds that “In the event that the presidential elections cannot be held for any reason, all related procedures shall be considered null and void.”