Formation The House of Representatives was officially established as Libya’s legislative body on 4 August 2014, following
parliamentary elections held on 25 June 2014. It replaced the
General National Congress (GNC), which had served as the interim legislature since the fall of
Muammar Gaddafi’s government. Voter turnout in the 2014 election was approximately 18%, a significant decline from the 60% turnout recorded during the 2012 election. Due to security concerns, voting did not occur in several areas of the country. At the end of its innagural session on 4 August 2014 held in
Tobruk with 158 of 188 members present,
Aguila Saleh Issa was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives and sworn the next day, with Emhemed Shouaib and Hamid Houma elected to the positions of First and Second Deputy Speakers respectively. On 6 November 2014, the Tripoli-based
Supreme Judicial Council ruled that the June elections were unconstitutional and declared the HoR dissolved. The HoR rejected the ruling, claiming it had been issued under duress and that the court was under the influence of armed militias. Subsequently, on 23 August 2014, the General National Congress was reconvened in Tripoli as a rival legislature. The House of Representatives refused to recognize the reconstituted GNC and, on 6 October 2015, voted by 112 out of 131 members to extend its own mandate beyond the original expiration date of 20 October, citing the inability to conduct new elections amid ongoing instability.
Shift to Tobruk On 4 August 2014, amid escalating violence in the capital during the
Second Libyan Civil War, the House of Representatives relocated to the eastern city of
Tobruk in the
Butnan District following the occupation of
Tripoli by armed Islamist groups. Due to a shortage of available housing in Tobruk, the HoR initially chartered the
Elyros, a car ferry operated by the Greek shipping company
ANEK Lines, to serve as temporary accommodation and meeting space for its members. The legislature later moved its operations to the Dar al-Salam Hotel in Tobruk, which became its formal seat.
Skhirat agreement In October 2015, United Nations envoy
Bernardino León proposed a power-sharing arrangement between the House of Representatives and the rival General National Congress, with independent
Fayez al-Sarraj as a compromise candidate for prime minister. However, both parties rejected the terms of the initial proposal. Despite this, the negotiations led to a revised agreement, developed by Fayez al-Sarraj and others, which gained the support of the
United Nations. On 17 December 2015, representatives from both the House of Representatives and the reconstituted GNC signed the revised agreement, commonly referred to as the
"Libyan Political Agreement" or the
"Skhirat Agreement", named after the
Moroccan city where the talks took place. The agreement envisioned the creation of a nine-member
Presidential Council and a seventeen-member interim
Government of National Accord (GNA), with the goal of organizing national elections within two years. On 31 December 2015, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Aguila Saleh Issa, publicly declared his support for the agreement. A new round of UN-backed negotiations began in October 2017 in
Tunis but ended without an agreement. On 17 December 2017, General
Khalifa Haftar declared the "so-called" Skhirat Agreement void, stating it had expired and was no longer a basis for governance. On 20 December, the House of Representatives, meeting in Tobruk, elected Fawzi Al-Nuwairi, a representative from
Surman in
Zawiya District, as First Deputy Speaker. The election followed the resignation of Emhemed Shouaib from the position the previous week. Al-Nuwairi received 59 votes, defeating Mohamed Al-Waar, a representative from
Bani Walid in
Misrata District, who received 44 votes.
2019 Tripoli meetings In early April 2019, during the
Western Libya campaign amid the
Second Libyan Civil War, members of the House of Representatives publicly split in their positions on the military offensive against Tripoli. A group of 31 representatives issued a statement supporting the attack, while 49 members expressed opposition to it. The vote to appoint al-Kehili as speaker passed with 27 votes in favor. The formation of the GNU was approved by a vote of 121 members, with the goal of unifying the rival
Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the
Second Al-Thani Cabinet based in Tobruk. However, on 21 September 2021, the House of Representatives, meeting in Tobruk, passed a vote of no confidence against the GNU. The motion was supported by 83 of the 113 members present, effectively signaling a withdrawal of legislative support for Dbeibeh’s administration and acknowledging a shift in backing toward the rival
Government of National Stability (GNS). However, Al-Baybas later denied having withdrawn from the race. The appointment was rejected by the incumbent Prime Minister of the
Government of National Unity (GNU),
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who stated he would only relinquish power following national elections. while political and military leaders in
Misrata opposed the decision and reiterated their support for the GNU. International reactions were mixed as Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed support for the "new government",[5] whereas the
United Nations affirmed its continued recognition of Dbeibeh’s leadership. On 1 March 2022, the House of Representatives held a vote of confidence in support of Bashagha’s cabinet, formally establishing the
Government of National Stability (GNS). According to Speaker Saleh, 92 out of 101 attending members voted in favor. However, the legitimacy of the vote was contested, with reports that 10 votes were submitted via voice messages from absent members. The
High Council of State condemned what it described as "unilateral action" by the HoR, stating that the decision violated the Libyan Political Agreement. The United Nations also expressed concern over procedural irregularities, including a lack of transparency and allegations of intimidation surrounding the vote. On 8 February 2023, the House of Representatives, meeting in
Benghazi, elected Abdul Hadi Al-Saghair as Second Deputy Speaker, succeeding Hamid Houma, who had been designated by the House as
Minister of Defence of the
Government of National Stability and subsequently resigned from his deputy speaker role. Al-Saghair was elected with 67 votes in favor, 40 against, and 3 invalid ballots. Al-Saghair resigned from his position as Deputy Speaker on 30 May, citing “the difficulty of tackling the aspirations and hopes of the nation and its national entitlements in light of the available work tools and mechanisms.” The House later elected Mesbah Doma as his successor. On 16 May, the HoR had appointed
Osama Hammad, the GNS
Finance Minister, as acting
Prime Minister of Libya. On 19 May 2025, the House of Representatives convened a formal session in eastern Libya to initiate discussions on forming a new unified government, with the stated aim of preparing for long-delayed
presidential and
parliamentary elections. According to parliamentary spokesperson Abdullah Blehig, nominations for the post of prime minister would be accepted over a two-day period, after which candidates would present their policy programs and work plans for evaluation by lawmakers. A session to select a new prime minister was planned, with the appointee tasked with forming a government to be submitted for a vote of confidence. During the session, Speaker
Aguila Saleh Issa called on the Tripoli-based
Government of National Unity to step down, accusing it of using excessive force against demonstrators in the capital, and asserting that "the time has ended for this isolated government." A coalition of lawmakers is putting pressure on the House of Representatives in November 2025 to remove President Aguila Saleh from his position as president. ==See also==