The Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Khalid Al-Mishri, said Sunday that the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) had randomly set January 24 as a new date for elections to mislead Libyans, adding that this is a crime that is punishable by the law.

Al-Mishri added in an HCS session that the election process didn’t reach its final stage as it was based on flawed laws, reiterating that those parties that accepted the election process as it was “are now evading the blame and each one is throwing the guilt of failure to the other.”

He added that failure of elections is because of the lack of a clear constitutional basis and consensual election laws, not to mention the inability of the HNEC to lead the process, in addition to plunging the judiciary into the political disarray.

Al-Mishri called on the House of Representatives (HoR) to be in agreement with the HCS regarding election laws and the other issues as per the Libyan Political Agreement, saying any unilateral decisions by the HoR are doomed to fail, stressing that the HCS is in contact with the HoR Presidency to reach a solution to the crisis.

“There are two options for elections on the table now. The first is the efforts of the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy via the UN Support Mission in Libya to hold elections by June 31 at the most; the date of the end of the term of the LPDF, while keeping the interim executive authority intact without amendment.” Al-Mishri explained.

Al-Mishri added that the second option is the efforts of local political parties, including the HCS, to amend the interim executive authority by extension of the term of power to allow for constitutional basis deliberations and the amendment of election laws so that Libyans can hold the vote in a span of one year.