Libya Political Risk Report (October 10)

Big Picture Outlook

The slow and complicated bureaucracies of the High Council of State (HCS) and the House of Representatives (HoR) continued to inch closer to a potential agreement to assign a new board for the High National Election Commission (HNEC).

The reconstitution of the HNEC board is the first major test for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya’s (UNSMIL) new political roadmap, and success or failure in this effort will determine the fate of the initiative.

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) issued new rules and regulations that sparked temporary concern in the market. Hannibal Gaddafi’s worsening health revived Libya’s dispute with Lebanon and drew more attention to Hannibal's decade-long pretrial detention.

Key Highlights

• The Central Bank of Libya issued new compliance regulations for commercial banks, which will impose strict penalties on branches who engage in credit fraud or corruption.
• The Central Bank of Libya issued new rules for commercial banks to apply a commission on cash withdrawals.
• The Constitutional Supreme Court in Benghazi issued a ruling saying that a legislative act issued by the House of Representatives falls outside the scope of administrative judicial review and oversight.
• The High Council of State voted to approve a committee's report regarding the UN’s new political roadmap. In the same session, the HoR also approved a plan to replace the High national Election Commission (HNEC) board within 15 days. 
• Hannibal Gaddafi’s lawyer, Laurent Bayon, said that Gaddafi was hospitalized in Lebanon due to severe abdominal pain.
• The Government of National Unity (GNU) Ministry of Justice issued a statement, holding Lebanon accountable for Hannibal’s decreasing health.