Libya’s Mufti voices reservations over 4+4 agreement, calls for referendum on constitution

Libya’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Al-Sadiq Al-Gharyani, voiced reservations over the “4+4” agreement, denying reports that Fatwa House had endorsed the deal and stressing that claims attributed to the institution in this regard were inaccurate.

Speaking during his weekly program on Tanasuh TV,  the Mufti said the “4+4” agreement, in his view, lacked a clear legal basis. He argued that the participants representing the High Council of State no longer represented the council following measures taken against them, while also saying that representatives of the House of Representatives had not received an official mandate to participate in the agreement.

Al-Ghariani questioned whether the agreement could lead to genuine elections amid the continuing political divide. He noted that Khalifa Haftar had previously rejected holding elections at earlier stages and expressed concern that the current understandings could grant him a broader political and military role in the capital.

The Mufti also criticized government representatives involved in the understandings, urging them to reconsider their positions and warning against participating in arrangements that, in his view, could affect the future of the state and its institutions.

He also addressed the country’s economic and public service conditions, citing electricity, water and fuel crises, medicine shortages and disparities in salaries. He said these issues reflected the scale of the difficulties facing Libyan citizens.

Turning to international positions, the Mufti criticized the role of the UN mission and some countries supporting the agreement, arguing that there was an international approach that could lead to the imposition of political arrangements that would not deliver the desired stability in Libya.

The Mufti called for a referendum on the draft constitution as a first step toward holding elections, stressing that, in his view, resolving the political crisis should be based on a clear constitutional process leading to elections that would bring the transitional period to an end.