Libyan parliament passes national reconciliation law by majority vote

TRIPOLI - Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives, the parliament, on Tuesday approved a national reconciliation law by a majority vote.

"Today's session discussed a draft law on national reconciliation. After completing the discussion and deliberation of the articles of the draft law, the House of Representatives approved the reconciliation law," House of Representatives spokesperson Abdullah Blehig said in a statement.

In April 2021, Libya's western-based Presidency Council announced the inauguration of a High Commission for Libyan National Reconciliation. In September that year, it said it will hold an international conference in October to build support for a Libyan-owned and led stability plan.

In June 2022, the Presidency Council announced a strategic vision for national reconciliation.

A legal committee appointed by the Presidential Council started drafting a reconciliation law in late 2022 and finalized it in February 2024.

On Nov 20, 2024, President of the Libyan Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi called on Speaker of the House of Representatives Aguila Saleh to approve the law "without making any amendments to it".

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has struggled with fragmentation. The country now is divided between two main rival administrations: the eastern-based government, backed by the House of Representatives, and the western-based government in Tripoli, supported by the Presidency Council.