Libyan rebels tweak transition road map
2011-08-17 14:59
Benghazi - Libyan rebels have tweaked their road map to include a transfer of power to an elected body within eight months of an eventual ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, followed by the adoption of a constitution.
The National Transitional Council (NTC), the rebels Benghazi-based political and military leadership, amended a plan they mapped out in March with a "constitutional declaration", which AFP reviewed on Wednesday.
The document outlines in 37 articles the key phases of a transition period that would be set in motion.
The NTC is "the highest authority of the state ... and the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people, drawing its legitimacy from the February 17 revolution," the text reads.
The council would move its headquarters from the rebel bastion of Benghazi in eastern Libya to the north African nation's historic capital in the west, Tripoli.
Within 30 days of this relocation, the CNT would appoint an interim executive committee - or transitional government - to run the country.
This government would be tasked with organising within eight months the election of a 200-member national transition assembly, or "national conference".
Legitimate representative
The NTC would step down and the national conference becomes the legitimate representative of the Libyan people from its first session.
The government would appoint a prime minister within a month and form a committee that would draft a new constitution in less than two months from its appointment and which would then be put to a referendum.
The assembly would also have 30 days from its first session to draft an electoral law fixing the date of elections to be held before the end of six months.
These would be organised "transparently" and "democratically" in a process supervised by the United Nations and other international bodies.
The assembly would have 30 days to approve the results of the election and another 30 days to convene an elected parliament, formally ending the transition period.
The NTC was formed in Benghazi on February 27, 10 days after the outbreak of a popular revolt against Kadhafi.
Mustafa Abdel Jalil, a former justice minister, heads this "crisis committee" which has won the recognition of dozens of governments.