Libya parliament approves new election law

The Libyan General National Congress on Sunday approved the election law of the House of Representatives, Congress Spokesman Omar Hmaidan said. Hmaidan said that the members of the congress have approved the law of electing the House of Representatives which will replace the General National Congress to become the supreme legislative body during the transitional period. "This law is approved by the majority of 124 votes from the total 136," he said. In mid-February, the General National Congress decided to hand over its powers to the House of Representatives that is scheduled to be elected later. The Libyan National Congress was authorized to run Libya for 18 month since August 2012, and must hand over power before Feb. 7, 2014, according to the interim constitution. However, the Congress has delayed the deadline to December 2014 due to the unstable post-war situation, which has triggered criticism from the grass roots and the civil society institutions.