Shockingly, the NTC ratified a last-minute amendment to the draft constitutional declaration mere days before the election that not only tries to mold the constitutional committee after that of 1951 with equal seats to Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan, but also takes away the responsibility for selecting the committee from the soon-to-be-elected General National Congress and turns it over to another election. Certainly the General National Congress will not be bound to follow the whims of its predecessor the NTC in forming the constitutional committee in a manner meant to appease the very vocal federalists. Breaking from the Libya Herald - NTC Takes Responsibility for Constitution from National Conference.
The National Transitional Council dropped a political bombshell on the eve of the National Conference elections by stripping it of one of its main functions. It passed a new law under which the 60-member commission which is to draw up plans for a new constitution will no longer be appointed by the Conference. Instead it will be directly elected by Libyan voters.
Constitutional amendment Number 3 was passed today, Thursday, at a special meeting chaired by Mustafa Abdul Jalil. Under the amendment, the 60-member commission will have 20 members from each of the historic regions of Libya: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan.