As many have expected, the House of Representatives (HoR) failed in its meeting held Tuesday at its headquarters to vote on the referendum law of the draft constitution.

The HoR held a meeting yesterday to discuss the Consultative Committee's resolution, which determines the quorum necessary to pass the referendum law. However, the HoR decided to postpone the vote on the law to today's session, but once again it failed to pass the vote and suspended the meeting until after Eid al-Adha holidays.

The meeting was held amid a tense atmosphere, where a number of armed opponents of the constitution besieged the HoR and clashed with the guards, resulting in the injury of a security officer, in addition to the MP Saleh Hashim who tried to calm the armed opponents outside.

A number of members of the HoR had clarified in a press statement that the meeting was suspended so that the constitutional declaration would be amended before the referendum law.

MP Abdul Moneim Balkour said that the meeting was adjourned because of a number of spoilers who do not wish to pass the law until the amendment of Article 6, to divide Libya into three constituencies, Tripoli, Barqa, and Fezzan, in violation of the constitutional declaration which stipulates that the referendum on the constitution is to be held on the basis that the entire country is one electoral constituency.

Balkour added that some MPs from the eastern region refused to hold the voting session until the constitutional amendment is included.

However, the number of MPs present today is not enough to vote on the constitutional amendment, as the amendment needs 120 votes, but the referendum law needs an absolute majority in accordance with the decision of the Consultative Committee.

Some observers accused the HoR of tampering and political manoeuvring to prolong the crisis, stressing that the HoR does not intend to pass the referendum law on the constitution in its current form, but it will continue to prevent its adoption or at least pass a distorted law that will lead to a "No" vote as stated by a number of MPs on more than one occasion.