Libya Starts Work on New Constitution

Local Editor

A special body to draft a new constitution for Libya convened in the east of Libya, a milestone in the transformation of the North African country since the 2011 ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.

The 47 elected committee members gathered in the city of Bayda east of Benghazi to begin working on the new constitution in the country.

The body, drawn equally from all regions, will have 120 days to draft a constitution.

"The constitution should be finished in eight months," Mohamed Al-Tumi, a member from the capital of Tripoli, told Reuters after a brief ceremony attended by tribal and community leaders.

"The elections have not been completed so anyone can challenge the work of the committee by filing a petition to the constitutional court," said Tawfiq al-Shahaibi, a former lawmaker.

The body was meant to have 60 members but violence in Derna in the east and in several southern areas made it impossible to hold elections there.
The Amazigh or Berber minority also boycotted the committee to demand more rights.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team