Libyan Higher Council of State approves draft law of constitution referendum

TRIPOLI, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Libya's Higher Council of State on Tuesday approved a law on draft constitution referendum, a member of the Council revealed.

"A crucial session of the Council was held today with 74 members present to vote on a law for the draft constitution referendum. 52 members voted in favor of the law," Council member Ali Sweih told Xinhua.

Sweih added that the voting process was conducted in accordance with Article 23 of the UN-sponsored political agreement.

Article 23 states that the Tripoli-based Higher Council of State and the eastern-based House of Representatives shall form a joint committee for drafting a constitution referendum law and a general elections law.

This Council's decision has been adopted without forming a joint committee with the House of Representatives, a move likely to be rejected by the House of Representatives.

The draft constitution was proposed by the Libyan Constitutional Drafting Assembly in July. However, the draft has been subject to judicial challenges due to controversy in the voting process. Enditem