The political and social forces in southern Libya (the Fezzan region) are unifying their position to appear as a third force in the political scene that has a position which must be taken into consideration in both the general political scene and the course of the electoral process.
The Forum for Uniting the Speech of the People of the South, which was held on Monday at the House of Culture theater in Sebha, demanded the amendment of Article (20) of the Parliament Election Law and setting a date that cannot be postponed for the polling day, calling for full reconciliation in Libya starting from the south and forming a working group to nurture and carry it forward.
The one-day forum which was held with the participation of representatives from the southeast and west, emphasized that “the south is an integral part of Libya,” stressing the need to “unify in order to demand all economic, political, security, service and media rights” and that “the people of the south enjoy the riches of the region”.
The local “gateway” website quoted the forum as confirming the unification of the people of the south on the need to implement “the electoral entitlement urgently and quickly, while removing all obstacles that stand in the way of conducting the elections in a fair and just manner for all candidates in order to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates and to set a clear and unalterable date,”, January 24, 2022, and the amendment of Article No. (20) of Law No. (2) regarding the election of the House of Representatives.
Article No. (20) of the House of Representatives Election Law stipulates that “The House of Representatives determines the election day after (30) days from the date of the election of the head of state based on a proposal from the Commission, and this day shall be an official holiday, and if one of the polling stations is unable to conduct the poll in on that day, the commission announces within (48) hours, the date and place of polling within a period not exceeding one week from the date of the first date”.
The Awlad Suleiman tribes have a good relationship with the Qadhadhfa tribe, to which Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi belongs, and therefore an alliance may be formed between the two tribes to expel the army.
Since the start of the preparations for the elections, the positions of institutions and affiliated parties of the eastern and western regions have dominated while no position in the south appeared until the Sebha Court considered the appeal submitted by the defense of Saif al-Islam, son of the late Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi.
Before the forces of the army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Since 2017, the army has controlled the south, which is comprised of Arab tribes, including the Qadhadhfa tribe, from which Ibn Qaddafi descends, the Tabu and the Tuareg.
The forum’s affirmation reflects the need to allow all candidates to participate in the electoral race in support of Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, while several parties are calling for his exclusion in light of his continued prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Observers consider that the south’s support for the son of Qaddafi is justified in light of the suffering of its residents due to the marginalization practiced by the authorities in the center against them, as the southern cities face continuous electricity cuts and a frequent absence of cooking gas and heating.
In the previous era, the south received great attention from Qaddafi, as he was keen to appease his tribes, whether Arab, Tuareg and Tebu.
Since the fall of the government, the south is no longer mentioned except during the formation of governments, as the region emerges as a party in the federal distribution of positions, or one of its cities has been subjected to a terrorist attack or by the Chadian opposition.
In mid-December, Sebha witnessed military tension between forces affiliated with the Libyan army and dissident forces led by Massoud Jedi Soleimani.
Observers linked this tension, which was quickly cordoned off, to Saif al-Islam Qaddafi’s return to the political scene after announcing his candidacy, in addition to the tension between Haftar and Russia due to its support for Saif al-Islam, which prompted Haftar to return to the alliance with France in a military operation to expel the Chadian opposition from the south.
The 116th Infantry Brigade – under the command of Masoud Jedi al-Sulaimani and other armed formations – controls large parts of the city of Sebha militarily with the support of the tribes of southern Libya supporting Saif al-Islam Qaddafi.
Observers say that the conflict between Haftar’s forces and Masoud Gedi began with a struggle for influence over the southern region regarding smuggling routes, control of regions, and direct financing from Tripoli. According to them, the Awlad Suleiman (Arab) tribes to which Masoud Gedi belongs have a good relationship with the Qadhadhfa tribe, and therefore an alliance may be formed between the two tribes to expel the army and coordinate in order to regain control of the south following Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi ‘s appearance in public and his need to move openly and directly.
Reports of the Russian Wagner Group’s control of military bases in the south reinforce these expectations, as it is not excluded that Russia, which is interested in expanding in Africa, plans to empower Saif al-Islam and encourage a political front for the south in which the most important oil fields (the spark and the elephant) are concentrated.
Translation by Internationalist 360°
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 