The GNA as it is at present was rejected back on August 22 by a vote in the HoR. The GNA was to have presented a new reduced list of ministers within ten days but that was almost four months ago. For the GNA term to begin according to the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement(LPA), the HoR has first to vote confidence in it. So far this has not happened and there is an HoR government based in Tobruk that is a rival to the GNA and does not recognize it. The commander of the armed forces of the HoR, Marshal Khalifa Haftar, also refuses to recognize the HoR. He has even threatened to attack and liberate the GNA capital Tripoli.
One of the members of the PC, Ali Gatrani, refuses to attend meetings in Tripoli, and did not attend this meeting. He is a supporter of Haftar. An earlier meeting was held in Tunis so that Ali Gatrani could attend. The Libya Herald notes: Little detail has been revealed the decisions made at what the PC says was an ordinary scheduled Monday meeting. The ministerial allocations for the 2017 budget was on the agenda along with the lack of cash for banks to issue, the still falling exchange rate and the Council’s continuing row with the Central Bank at its governor Saddek Elkaber.
A statement after the meeting claimed it focused on the Presidential Guard that is to be set up to provide security for the GNA and its institutions. They also discussed plans to deal with the power and fuel problems that have plagued the western part of the country that is nominally under GNA control.
A recent meeting of the Misrata military council together with other military councils from western Libya complained that the PC had yet to appoint a chief of staff. The sixth gathering of the group had demanded that the PC appoint a chief of staff within a month but more than two months had passed since then. The Libya Herald also reports on the issue. There is no mention of the issue in the statement from the meeting. There is no indication as to when the PC will be ready for a vote on the new GNA in the HoR and no deadline set for the HoR to meet on the issue.
