26 Feb 2022; MEMO: Hundreds of Libyans have demonstrated in the capital of Tripoli on Friday calling for holding elections, ending the transitional phase in the country and overthrowing the House of Representatives and the High Council of State.
Anadolu Agency reported that hundreds of people have gathered in Martyrs' Square in central Tripoli following an invitation by activists on social media platforms and civil society institutions to call for holding elections.
The demonstrators displayed banners with phrases that read "No to extension… Yes to elections", "No to transitional stages", "Down with Parliament, down with the High Council of State… leave us" and "Legitimacy is for people, not for those who robbed the people."
While participating in the demonstration, political activist Salah Al-Bakush expressed: "We are all here to support the electoral process in Libya to remove the outmoded legitimacy of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State and to change the government as well."
"The main goal of these demonstrations is to call for holding elections, since 2.5 million voters have been deprived of their electoral right by the House of Representatives and the High Council of State. Despite this, the two councils are demanding an extension in their favour," Al-Bakush shared with Anadolu Agency.
Last Monday, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh announced in a televised speech a multi-pronged plan that would lead to holding legislative elections next June.
Despite Dbeibeh's announcement, Libyan institutions have not agreed on a date for the elections, threatening that they could not be re-organised on that date.
Libyans hope that holding parliamentary and presidential elections will contribute to ending an armed struggle that has plagued their oil-rich country for years.
