Libyan Supreme Court postpones final ruling on suspension of draft constitution

TRIPOLI, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Supreme Court Wednesday postponed its final ruling on the suspension of the draft constitution until Feb. 14.

"The Supreme Court in Tripoli has postponed the session of its final verdict on a judicial decision to suspend the draft constitution until Feb. 14," Siddiq Al-Dresi, spokesman for the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly, told Xinhua.

Al-Dresi said that a decision is likely to be made in favor of the ruling of the Court of Appeals in Al-Baida, a city in eastern Libya.

In August 2017, the appeals court ruled that the draft constitution should be suspended on grounds that the Assembly held the voting session on a holiday.

"It is all in the hands of the judiciary, and we are for its final ruling," said Al-Dresi.

"If the Supreme Court upholds the decision of the Al-Baida court, it means that the draft is null. The Constitution Drafting Assembly must hold consultation meetings, prepare a new draft, and present it to the Parliament again for referendum by the Libyan people," Al-Dresi added.

The Constitution Drafting Assembly last July voted for a draft constitution and presented it to the Parliament. However, the Parliament refused to issue a referendum law at that time. Enditem