TRIPOLI, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Libya's Presidential Council announced on Thursday that the leaders of the country's three main political bodies, namely the House of Representatives, the High Council of State, and the Presidential Council, have agreed on a principles document outlining a roadmap to end the transitional phase and advance the electoral process.
According to a statement issued by the Presidential Council, the agreement was reached during a virtual meeting on Tuesday as part of efforts to address the country's prolonged political deadlock and move toward the implementation of presidential and parliamentary elections.
The principles document reaffirmed commitment to Libya's Constitutional Declaration, the Libyan Political Agreement and its amendments, while stressing the need to complete the necessary arrangements for holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
Under the agreement, the electoral process will be supervised by a sovereign high committee comprising the governor of the Central Bank of Libya, the chairman of the High National Elections Commission, and representatives of Libya's 5+5 Joint Military Commission and security institutions from eastern and western Libya.
The 5+5 Joint Military Commission is a UN-facilitated military dialogue body comprised of five senior officers from the Tripoli-based government and five from the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The document stipulates that presidential and parliamentary elections should be held simultaneously no later than Feb. 17, 2027, based on electoral laws to be finalized by the 6+6 Joint Committee and subsequently approved by the House of Representatives.
The 6+6 Joint Committee is a legislative body in Libya formed by the House of Representatives and the High Council of State. Consisting of 12 members (6 from each chamber), it is tasked with drafting and finalizing the constitutional and legal frameworks required to hold the country's long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections.
The parties also agreed to introduce a new constitutional amendment requiring the elected president to initiate a broad national dialogue with the Constituent Assembly to finalize a permanent constitution.
Regarding sovereign institutions, the document calls for including the National Oil Corporation and the Libyan Foreign Investment Company among the institutions covered by Article 15 of the Libyan Political Agreement to safeguard their independence, preserve unified management, and protect national assets and resources.
The agreement also opposes migrant settlement policies and the release of frozen Libyan assets abroad before the election of a president.
On the economic front, the parties reaffirmed the National Oil Corporation's exclusive authority to market Libya's oil and the Central Bank's sole responsibility for collecting oil revenues through established legal mechanisms. They also agreed to prepare a unified constitutional budget for 2027 and submit it to the House of Representatives for approval.
In addition, the document adopted the Bouznika Agreement as the reference framework for appointing holders of sovereign positions and reunifying state institutions, as part of efforts to end institutional divisions and promote political and economic stability.
The announcement comes amid growing debate over the so-called "Boulos Initiative," a U.S.-backed proposal first reported in April that envisions a power-sharing arrangement between the Government of National Unity and eastern authorities. Fresh details were disclosed on Wednesday in an interview with the Financial Times by Massad Boulos, an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.
The proposal would create a new Presidential Council headed by Saddam Haftar with executive powers, alongside a unified government led by Dbeibah and the unification of Libya's security and military institutions.
Both the Presidential Council and the High Council of State have rejected the proposal, arguing that it bypasses existing legal frameworks, elected institutions, and political agreements that form the basis of any political settlement. The House of Representatives remains divided, with no official position issued. ■