Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has ordered the Defence Ministry to investigate claims regarding an attempt to prevent the High Council of State from holding a session on Monday by an affiliate force with the government.

The HCS Head, Khalid Al-Mishri, accused Dbeibah of attempting to block a session to vote on a set of constitutional laws and discuss the issue of sovereign positions after (the Constitution Protection Force) operating under the Defence Ministry allegedly besieged the HCS HQ and prevented its members from entering the building.

A press release by the PM office said that Dbeibah gave his orders to the Deterrence Force to disperse the protesters and secure the building, indicating that the protesters were few in number, according to the Defence Ministry's report.

"We reject the state of incitement and amplification carried out by the same parties seeking to obstruct the elections," PM Dbeibah's office quoted him as saying.

Dbeibah called on political parties to maintain open communications with all segments of the Libyan people "who are awaiting elections and fear the risk of veering towards parallel transitional paths."

The PM indicated that protests are common in light of the little confidence the people have in political parties that strike deals in dark rooms to extend their stay in power, adding that some of these protests "may be undisciplined at times."

"We instructed the Ministry of Interior to secure the HCS HQ without prejudice to the right of citizens to peaceful protest," the PM said.

The statement called on the "patriotic" members of the HCS not to drag the council into "individual political gambling" and to turn down any attempts to extend the transitional stage and push towards elections.

"It has become clear that there is a party seeking to jump, after about 11 years, from the legislative power to the executive branch, through a power-sharing deal that postpones the elections, but the Libyans will not accept that, and we are behind them," the statement concluded.