The Presidential Council has called on the United Nations Mission in Libya to lead a dialogue mechanism with the House of Representatives to reach a unified budget law or agree on temporary financial arrangements.
This came in a letter sent by the advisor of the Head of the Presidential Council, Ziyad Daghim, to the Acting Head of the United Nations Mission to Libya, Stephanie Koury, and circulated by local media.
Daghim said that the executive authority is competent, according to (Article 9, paragraph 6) of the political agreement, to issue temporary financial arrangements through a higher financial committee consisting of the relevant institutions.
Daghim pointed out that the main cause for the current crisis was the lack of a budget law that restores the Central Bank to its technical role away from the political role or determining spending priorities.
He stressed that the existence of a unified budget law for 2024 requires 3 constitutional requirements that were not met in what was issued by Parliament, noting that the requirements are represented in submitting a draft budget law by the executive authority, provided that the executive authority consults with the High Council of State before submitting the draft law, and the House of Representatives approves the draft budget law with the quorum described according to the sixth amendment to the Constitutional Declaration.
He called for the necessity of UNSMIL leading a dialogue mechanism that ensures reaching a unified budget law or agreeing on temporary financial arrangements.
Regarding the initialed agreement between the representatives of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State, Daghim indicated that "the Presidential Council is open to what was stated in the statement and is ready for a direct dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations Mission with the House of Representatives to address the unilateral decisions related to the financial and economic crisis sparked by the issuance of the unilaterally prepared and issued budget law, which is an opportunity to address the competence of appointing the Board of Directors of the Central Bank."
The Presidential Council announced its support for the agreement between the House of Representatives and the High Council of State to appoint a new governor for the Central Bank, but it insisted on its right to appoint the Board of Directors of the bank based on the political agreement.
