TRIPOLI: Three Libyan ethnic minorities announced yesterday that they would boycott an election of a committee to draft a new constitution, the first blow to a democratic process supposed to decide what political system the country will adopt.
Members of the Amazigh, Tibu and Tuareg communities denounced a law passed on Tuesday under which 60 people will be elected by popular vote to draft a charter, saying that such a constitutional committee would not be “fully representative”.
The constitution will be the first since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, who often played off one tribe or clan against the other during his 42-year iron-fisted rule.
At a news conference, a group of 12 Amazigh, Tibu and Tuareg lawmakers as well as civil representatives for the minority groups said they would not put forward candidates nor vote in the election, expected in six months.
The minority groups object to the fact that the drafting committee will vote on the consitution’s contents, saying that a consensus of members — rather than just a majority — should be required to decide on cultural and other issues affecting them.
“The writing of the Libyan constitution will be based on the vote of the majority and not on the concept of agreement,” Giuma Kusa, of the national Tibu assembly, said in a statement on behalf of the groups. “There will be no voice for minorities, our representatives would be purely symbolic.” The politicians said they would also boycott sessions of the General National Congress (GNC) in protest.
Reuters
