ABSTRACT
Following the installation of the opposition (NTC) as the de facto administration in August 2011, all constitutional documents promulgated under the rule of Muammar al-Qaddafi were suspended and an interim Constitutional Declaration was issued in its place. Elections to a 200-member legislature, the General National Congress (GNC), took place in July 2012. Eighty seats were allocated to candidates representing political parties elected on the basis of proportional representation, and the remaining 120 were reserved for independents. However, in June 2014 a new legislature, the House of Representatives (HoR), was elected. Although all 200 seats in the new chamber were reserved for individual candidates, many of those contesting the elections were reportedly affiliated to political organizations. The new chamber (which replaced the GNC) was inaugurated in August, but in November the Supreme Court ruled that the procedure under which the HoR had been created was illegal and ordered its immediate dissolution. None the less, until March 2016 both the HoR and the GNC remained in operation: the former retained international recognition, while the latter was under the direction of pro-Islamist groups. The formation of a Government of National Accord (GNA) in February 2016 led to the official dissolution of the GNC in April and the formation by up to 70 former GNC members of an upper chamber, the High Council of State, in its place. However, the GNA was not officially recognized by either the GNC or the HoR. In March 2021 a new Government of National Unity (GNU) took office, the principal task of which was to prepare the country for presidential and legislative elections (due to take place on 24 December). Both of Libya's former administrations officially handed over power to the GNU shortly thereafter.
