The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled yesterday on a request for legislative interpretation submitted by the Head of the Benghazi based Libyan Government, Osama Hammad, regarding the legal basis for calculating the absolute majority of the House of Representatives (HoR).

The Court, the eastern based state news agency LANA reported, determined that the calculation must be based on the actual number of members legally retaining their parliamentary status, excluding vacant seats.

In its interpretation, the Court clarified that the determining factor for calculating the absolute majority is the number of legally incumbent members, rather than the total number of seats allocated for the House’s membership.

According to the House of Representatives’ rapporteur, the number of members effectively retaining their parliamentary status is 160, making the absolute majority 81 members.

The request for interpretation follows a controversy sparked by a House session in which 98 out of the 102 attending members voted to amend the House’s internal regulations and activate the parliamentary session.

This occurred prior to the election of Al-Salheen Abdel-Nabi on 6 October as Speaker of the House within the new leadership body.

Al-Salheen Abdelnabi Elected as New Speaker of the Libyan HoR

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