Libyan parties agree to hold constitutional referendum ahead of elections: UN

TRIPOLI - The Constitutional Committee comprised by Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives and the Tripoli-based High Council of State have agreed to hold a constitutional referendum ahead of the upcoming elections, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said Wednesday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Constitutional Committee held a meeting in the Egyptian city of Hurghada, and "agreed on holding a constitutional referendum before the general elections on Dec 24", UNSMIL said in a statement later Wednesday.

The UN body said that the members of the two councils have agreed to resume their discussions in Hurghada on Feb 9-11, and to invite the High National Elections Commission to participate in the discussion on the implementation of the referendum.

During the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum held in November 2020 in Tunisia's capital Tunis, 75 Libyans representing the social and political spectrum of Libya discussed a political roadmap to achieve lasting peace in the war-torn country and agreed to hold general elections on Dec 24, 2021.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and unrest ever since the fall of the late former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.