Libyan Protesters storm constitution authority headquarters

Protesters stormed headquarters of Libya's constitution drafting authority on Saturday, after it unanimously introduced a constitution draft, said authority spokesman. "The authority met today with a quorum of 43 members to vote on a draft constitution after amendments made by members. A draft was approved by 42 members out of 60." Siddiq Dersi, spokesman of the authority said.

Dersi said that after the meeting, dozens of protesters surrounded the headquarters of the authority, in protest against the voting process. He stressed that there are tribal and social efforts made to contain the situation and facilitate the safe exit of members from the headquarters. A member of the authority confirmed that many were "trapped inside the authority's building."

"Some protesters are armed and they threatened some members. They accused them of being traitors, and said that the draft served interests of other countries and ignored rights of eastern Libyans," said the member, who did not reveal his name. The head of the eastern-based parliament, Agila Saleh, called for a parliament session to assess the performance of the constitution drafting authority.

Saleh stressed the need to amend the constitutional declaration to form a committee of specialists to draft a constitution, in view of the "failure of the constitution authority to produce a draft." Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

On its hand, A committee tasked with writing a constitution for Libya voted in favor of a draft, paving the way for parliament to approve a referendum and causing uproar among opponents.
Critics, including secessionists and people in favor of the country’s 1951 constitution, called for a redo of Saturday’s vote.

Amraja Noah, a committee member from the eastern city of Tobruk, said protesters stormed the building to stop the session, forcing the members to rush the vote. He said 44 members attended the session and 42 voted in favor of passing the draft. An opponent of the decision, Abdelkader Kadura, a committee member from Benghazi, expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of the voting.

“This serves a small minority and a certain geographical area,” he said, referring to members who voted in favor.  The 60-member committee has been assigned to work on a draft constitution since 2014. Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 civil war that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Qaddafi. The oil-rich nation is now split between rival governments and militias. Libya’s internationally-recognized parliament is based in the east and allied with the powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar.