20 January 2021 - The Constitutional Committee formed by the House of Representatives and the High Council of State held a meeting between 19-20 January in Hurghada, The Arab Republic of Egypt, and agreed on holding a constitutional referendum before the general elections on December 24th.  UNSMIL thanks the Egyptian authorities for their generous hosting of this meeting.

The members of both houses agreed to hold a referendum on the constitutional proposal drafted by the Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA), based on Law No. 6 of 2018 amended by Law No. 1 of 2019. They also agreed that Article 6 of Law No. 6 should be amended to adjust the threshold for adopting the constitution.

The members of the two councils also agreed to resume their discussions in Hurghada from 9 to 11 February, and to invite the High National Elections Commission to attend and participate in their discussion on the implementation of the referendum. The participants asked the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to help activate their decision and provide the necessary support for conducting the referendum once the date is determined.

The Mission commends the two delegations on their decision to meet within the framework of the Roadmap agreed by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum and for the delegations' pledge to consult closely with the High National Elections Commission moving forward.  The Mission also appreciates the declared commitment of the two delegations to hold national elections on 24 December in response to the overwhelming demand of the Libyan people to renew the democratic legitimacy of their institutions via the ballot box.  The Mission will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders to support electoral process leading to a democratic and stable Libya.