Libyan House of Representatives مجلس النواب Majlis al-Nuwaab | |
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| 1st Legislature | |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 4 August 2014; 11 years ago (2014-08-04) |
| Preceded by | General National Congress |
| Leadership | |
Speaker | |
First Deputy Speaker | Fawzi Al‑Nuwairi, Independent since 20 December 2017 |
Second Deputy Speaker | Mesbah Doma, Independent since June 2023 |
Rapporteur | Musaab al-Abed[1] since 5 May 2019 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 200 |
 | |
Political groups | As elected in 2014:
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| Elections | |
| Parallel voting: First-past-the-post voting (40 seats) Single non-transferable vote (80 seats) Proportional representation (80 seats) | |
Last election | 25 June 2014 |
Next election | TBD |
| Meeting place | |
| Dar al-Salam Hotel Tobruk,Libya;[3] Rixos al-Nasr Hotel Tripoli, Libya[4] Islamic Dawa Building, Benghazi,Libya[5] | |
| Website | |
| https://parliament.ly | |
| Constitution | |
| 2011 Transitional Constitutional Declaration | |
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Executive |
Legislature
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Judiciary
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 Libya portal |
TheLibyan House of Representatives (HoR;Arabic:مجلس النواب,romanized: Majlis al-Nuwaab,lit. 'Council of Deputies') is the unicamerallegislature ofLibya, established following the2014 parliamentary election, which recorded an 18% voter turnout.[6][7]
Amid escalating conflict during theSecond Libyan Civil War and the August 2014 Islamist takeover of Tripoli, the HoR relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk. Although based in Tobruk, several sessions were held in Tripoli in May 2019 while thecapital was under armed assault, including the temporary appointment of an interim speaker.[4][1] From 2014 to 2021, the HoR backed the Tobruk-based government led byAbdullah al-Thani. It later recognized theGovernment of National Unity (GNU) under Prime MinisterAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh. In September 2021, the HoR passed a vote of no confidence against the GNU and subsequently appointed a rival administration, theGovernment of National Stability (GNS).[8]
The House of Representatives was officially established as Libya’s legislative body on 4 August 2014, followingparliamentary elections held on 25 June 2014. It replaced theGeneral National Congress (GNC), which had served as the interim legislature since the fall ofMuammar Gaddafi’s government.[9][10] Voter turnout in the 2014 election was approximately 18%, a significant decline from the 60% turnout recorded during the 2012 election[11][12] Due to security concerns, voting did not occur in several areas of the country.[13]
At the end of its innagural session on 4 August 2014 held inTobruk with 158 of 188 members present,Aguila Saleh Issa was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives and sworn the next day,[14][2][15] with Emhemed Shouaib and Hamid Houma elected to the positions of First and Second Deputy Speakers respectively.[16]
On 6 November 2014, the Tripoli-basedSupreme Judicial Council ruled that the June elections were unconstitutional and declared the HoR dissolved. The HoR rejected the ruling, claiming it had been issued under duress and that the court was under the influence of armed militias.[17]
Subsequently, on 23 August 2014, the General National Congress was reconvened in Tripoli as a rival legislature.[18][19] The House of Representatives refused to recognize the reconstituted GNC and, on 6 October 2015, voted by 112 out of 131 members to extend its own mandate beyond the original expiration date of 20 October, citing the inability to conduct new elections amid ongoing instability.[18] By 2019, the HoR was aligned with the executive authority of theSecond Al-Thani Cabinet, led by Prime MinisterAbdullah al-Thani and based in the eastern city ofBayda,Jabal al Akhdar.[20]
On 4 August 2014, amid escalating violence in the capital during theSecond Libyan Civil War, the House of Representatives relocated to the eastern city ofTobruk in theButnan District following the occupation ofTripoli by armed Islamist groups. Due to a shortage of available housing in Tobruk, the HoR initially chartered theElyros, a car ferry operated by the Greek shipping companyANEK Lines, to serve as temporary accommodation and meeting space for its members.[21][22][23]
The legislature later moved its operations to the Dar al-Salam Hotel in Tobruk, which became its formal seat.[24][25]
In October 2015, United Nations envoyBernardino León proposed a power-sharing arrangement between the House of Representatives and the rival General National Congress, with independentFayez al-Sarraj as a compromise candidate for prime minister. However, both parties rejected the terms of the initial proposal.[26] Despite this, the negotiations led to a revised agreement, developed by Fayez al-Sarraj and others, which gained the support of theUnited Nations.[27]
On 17 December 2015, representatives from both the House of Representatives and the reconstituted GNC signed the revised agreement, commonly referred to as the"Libyan Political Agreement" or the"Skhirat Agreement", named after theMoroccan city where the talks took place.[28][29] The agreement envisioned the creation of a nine-memberPresidential Council and a seventeen-member interimGovernment of National Accord (GNA), with the goal of organizing national elections within two years.[28] Under the terms of the agreement, the House of Representatives would remain as the legislature, and a new consultative body, theHigh Council of State, would be formed with members nominated by the GNC.[30]
On 31 December 2015, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Aguila Saleh Issa, publicly declared his support for the agreement.[29] As of April 2016, the Libyan National Elections Commission was still reviewing legal recommendations for conducting the next parliamentary elections.[31]
A new round of UN-backed negotiations began in October 2017 inTunis but ended without an agreement. On 17 December 2017, GeneralKhalifa Haftar declared the "so-called" Skhirat Agreement void, stating it had expired and was no longer a basis for governance.[32] On 20 December, the House of Representatives, meeting in Tobruk, elected Fawzi Al-Nuwairi, a representative fromSurman inZawiya District, as First Deputy Speaker. The election followed the resignation of Emhemed Shouaib from the position the previous week. Al-Nuwairi received 59 votes, defeating Mohamed Al-Waar, a representative fromBani Walid inMisrata District, who received 44 votes.[33]
In early April 2019, during theWestern Libya campaign amid theSecond Libyan Civil War, members of the House of Representatives publicly split in their positions on the military offensive against Tripoli. A group of 31 representatives issued a statement supporting the attack, while 49 members expressed opposition to it.[34]
On 2 May 2019, a session of 51 HoR members was held at the Rixos al-Nasr Hotel inTripoli. The participants emphasized that the session was not intended to divide the HoR or the country and invited other members to attend a follow-up session scheduled for 5 May. The group opposed the use of military force and called for a political resolution to the conflict. They also urged thePresidential Council, in its capacity as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to appoint a new military chief to replaceKhalifa Haftar, who had been named Supreme Commander of theLibyan National Army by the HoR on 2 March 2015.[4][35]
On 5 May, a subsequent session in Tripoli saw 47 members of the HoR elect al-Sadiq al-Kehili as Interim Speaker, Musaab al-Abed as rapporteur, and Hammuda Siala as spokesperson, each for a 45-day term.[36] The vote to appoint al-Kehili as speaker passed with 27 votes in favor.[37][1] In the2014 Libyan parliamentary election, al-Kehili was elected with 1,596 votes in Electorate 56,Tajura; Musaab al-Abed (also known as Musab Abulgasim) received 2,566 votes in Electorate 59, Hay al-Andalus; and Hammuda Siala (also spelled Sayala or Siyala) received 6,023 votes in Electorate 58, Tripoli Central.[38]
On 8 May, another HoR session in Tripoli established several internal bodies: an Internal Code Review Committee—tasked with reviewing legislative decisions made since 2014 under Article 16 of the Skhirat Agreement; an International Communication Committee; a Secretarial Office; and a Crisis Committee to monitor the actions of the Presidential Council's emergency committee in response to the 2019 offensive.[39] In a televised interview, spokesperson Hammuda Siala stated that resolving theLibyan crisis would require a new political agreement that reaffirmed the HoR as the country’s highest legislative authority.[37]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2020) |
On 17 July 2019, one of theBenghazi members of the House of Representatives,Seham Sergiwa, well-known for her documentation ofrape as a weapon of war during the2011 Libyan Civil War,[40] was detained by theLibyan National Army (LNA).[41] As of 20 July 2019[update], her location was unknown.[41]
On 10 March 2021, the House of Representatives convened in the central city ofSirte to formally approve the formation of aGovernment of National Unity (GNU). The new administration was led byMohamed al-Menfi asChairman of the Presidential Council andAbdul Hamid Dbeibeh asPrime Minister.[42] The formation of the GNU was approved by a vote of 121 members, with the goal of unifying the rivalGovernment of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and theSecond Al-Thani Cabinet based in Tobruk.
However, on 21 September 2021, the House of Representatives, meeting in Tobruk, passed a vote of no confidence against the GNU. The motion was supported by 83 of the 113 members present, effectively signaling a withdrawal of legislative support for Dbeibeh’s administration and acknowledging a shift in backing toward the rivalGovernment of National Stability (GNS).[8]
On 10 February 2022, the House of Representatives designatedFathi Bashagha asprime minister-designate, following the withdrawal of the only other declared candidate, Khalid Al-Baybas, as announced by SpeakerAguila Saleh Issa. The session was briefly suspended before the Speaker called for a show of hands, subsequently declaring Bashagha appointed byacclamation.[43] However, Al-Baybas later denied having withdrawn from the race.[44]
The appointment was rejected by the incumbent Prime Minister of theGovernment of National Unity (GNU),Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who stated he would only relinquish power following national elections.[43] The move was supported by Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army,[45] while political and military leaders inMisrata opposed the decision and reiterated their support for the GNU.[46] International reactions were mixed as Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed support for the "new government",[5] whereas theUnited Nations affirmed its continued recognition of Dbeibeh’s leadership.[47]
On 1 March 2022, the House of Representatives held a vote of confidence in support of Bashagha’s cabinet, formally establishing theGovernment of National Stability (GNS). According to Speaker Saleh, 92 out of 101 attending members voted in favor.[48] However, the legitimacy of the vote was contested, with reports that 10 votes were submitted via voice messages from absent members.[49] TheHigh Council of State condemned what it described as "unilateral action" by the HoR, stating that the decision violated the Libyan Political Agreement.[50] The United Nations also expressed concern over procedural irregularities, including a lack of transparency and allegations of intimidation surrounding the vote.[51]
On 8 February 2023, the House of Representatives, meeting inBenghazi, elected Abdul Hadi Al-Saghair as Second Deputy Speaker, succeeding Hamid Houma, who had been designated by the House asMinister of Defence of theGovernment of National Stability and subsequently resigned from his deputy speaker role. Al-Saghair was elected with 67 votes in favor, 40 against, and 3 invalid ballots.[52] Al-Saghair resigned from his position as Deputy Speaker on 30 May, citing “the difficulty of tackling the aspirations and hopes of the nation and its national entitlements in light of the available work tools and mechanisms.”[53] The House later elected Mesbah Doma as his successor. On 16 May, the HoR had appointedOsama Hammad, the GNSFinance Minister, as actingPrime Minister of Libya.[54]
On 19 May 2025, the House of Representatives convened a formal session in eastern Libya to initiate discussions on forming a new unified government, with the stated aim of preparing for long-delayedpresidential andparliamentary elections. According to parliamentary spokesperson Abdullah Blehig, nominations for the post of prime minister would be accepted over a two-day period, after which candidates would present their policy programs and work plans for evaluation by lawmakers. A session to select a new prime minister was planned, with the appointee tasked with forming a government to be submitted for a vote of confidence. During the session, SpeakerAguila Saleh Issa called on the Tripoli-basedGovernment of National Unity to step down, accusing it of using excessive force against demonstrators in the capital, and asserting that "the time has ended for this isolated government."[55]
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