"4+4" and "6+6" Ignite Dispute Between Libya's House of Representatives and State Council

The issuance of laws by the Libyan Parliament that may pave the way for implementing the understandings of the 4+4 committee, which includes representatives from the General Command of the Army and the Government of National Unity, has triggered new disputes with the High State Council, which adheres to agreements reached by the 6+6 committee.

The Parliament issued Law No. 4 of 2026, amending the law on the election of the Head of State (Law No. 28 of 2023), and Law No. 3 of 2026, regarding the elections of the House of Representatives, in addition to Law No. 5 of 2026, amending the law of the High Electoral Commission. It also issued decisions related to endorsing the "4+4" agreement and restructuring the Commission's board.

This move provoked the anger of the High State Council, which insists on holding general elections rather than extending the transitional phase.

Most Active Path
Libyan political activist Iman Al-Kashr commented on the matter saying: "It may be the most active path internationally at present, but it is not a national consensus nor an institutional agreement between the two councils. This raises a deeper question: if one party of the legislative authority rejects endorsing this path, are we facing a solution to the crisis, or another attempt to stir the crisis through an alternative path to the deadlock between institutions?"

Al-Kashr continued in a conversation with "Erem News": "As for 6+6, although it relies on a previous constitutional and institutional path, it has reached a state of obstruction and disagreement, leading the Mission to clarify that it is looking for other paths to overcome the deadlock. Therefore, the real comparison is not just: 4+4 or 6+6, but: can any formula, whatever its name, transform into a genuine institutional consensus accepted by the House of Representatives, the State Council, and other parties, or will we continue moving from one path to another while the crisis itself remains? In my view, there is an international effort to manage the crisis more than to resolve it."

She emphasized that "the past years reveal an international pattern inclined towards managing the risks of the crisis and containing them more than imposing a final settlement to its roots. The declared international discourse speaks about elections, unifying institutions, and ending the transitional phase, which is clear in the UN roadmap and the recent 4+4 agreement."

Real Conflict
Libyan political analyst Khalid Mohamed Al-Hijazi considered that "the renewed dispute between the House of Representatives and the High State Council regarding electoral laws cannot be considered merely a legal or procedural disagreement, but reflects the depth of the Libyan political crisis and the continuation of the struggle over managing the transitional phase and determining the shape of the upcoming power. What is happening today reveals that the problem is no longer the absence of political initiatives, but the multiplicity of paths, the difference in references, and the lack of trust between the institutions that are supposed to lead the country towards elections."

Al-Hijazi explained this to "Erem News", stating that "the House of Representatives adheres to the 4+4 path and the resulting political understandings, while the High State Council objects to the procedures and legislation that it sees as having exceeded the principle of consensus, and adheres to the institutional reference of the 6+6 committee, derived from the Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment."

He indicated that "in my estimation, the 4+4 path carries an opportunity for political movement in the current phase, as it is a recent understanding enjoying the attention of the UN Mission, and includes an attempt to address some files related to elections and the restructuring of the Commission."