Libyans agree on most criteria for sovereign positions

BOUZNIKA, Morocco

Libyan rivals agreed Friday on most criteria to select heads of sovereign positions, according to an official.

Earlier Friday, the fifth round of the Libyan political dialogue between the delegations of the Supreme Council of State and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives began in Morocco.

Omar Abulifa, a member of the Supreme Council of State, told reporters that both sides agreed on most criteria and said discussions "are heading towards positivity and all participants are optimistic to reach reassuring matters."

He said talks will continue Friday and Saturday.

For his part, Mohamed al-Raed, a member of the House of Representatives, said that "on Saturday, all criteria for selecting the heads of sovereign positions and the time for nomination will be announced."

According to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, the first session between the members of the Libyan 13 + 13 committee started in the city of Bouznika to raise the views of the two parties regarding the selection of the sovereign positions.

Due to the great division in the country between east and west, most sovereign institutions, if not all, have become divided with two heads.

According to the Skhirat Agreement signed in 2015 in Morocco, the Libyan sovereign positions that are being negotiated in Bouznika are the governor of the Central Bank of Libya and the head of the Audit Bureau.

The list of positions also includes the heads of the Administrative Oversight Authority and the Anti-Corruption Commission, the president and members of the High Electoral Commission, the president of the Supreme Court, and the attorney general.

The meeting comes days after the members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum Tuesday approved by the majority the mechanism for selecting heads of the executive authority, particularly, the government and the presidency.

Morocco hosted the first round of 13 + 13 panel dialogues on Sept. 6 for four days.

Libya has been torn by civil war since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara