TRIPOLI — Libya’s interim Prime Minister
Abdelhamid Dbeibah on Tuesday defied attempts by parliament to replace him,
setting up a potential showdown between his western-based government and the
assembly in the east.
اضافة اعلان
Dbeibah was named interim leader last year under a
UN-backed process aimed at helping the North African country recover from the
decade of chaos that followed the ouster of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
His government had a mandate to lead the country to
elections on December 24.
But the polls were cancelled, and parliament has
begun interviewing candidates to replace Dbeibah, a process that could spark
new east-west power struggles in the troubled nation.
In a televised address on Tuesday, Dbeibah vowed he
would resist any attempts by the parliament, which is based in the eastern city
of Tobruk, to replace his Tripoli-based government.
“I will accept no new transitional phase or parallel
authority,” he said, declaring that his government would only hand over power
to “an elected government”.
He launched a tirade against what he called the
“hegemonic political class”, accusing it of “stealing the dreams of 2.5 million
voters” who had registered to vote in the election.
He further accused parliament of passing laws
without meeting the legal quorum for votes.
The UN, western powers and even some members of
parliament have called for Dbeibah to stay in his role until elections, for
which a new date has not yet been set.
But parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, a leader of the
eastern faction who, like Dbeibah was a candidate in the presidential vote, has
forged ahead with efforts to have the premier replaced.
On Thursday,
parliament members are scheduled to pick between two candidates: powerful
former interior minister
Fathi Bashagha, 59, and outsider Khaled Al-Bibass, 51,
a former official in the interior ministry.
Libya has suffered through a decade of conflict
since the 2011 revolt that toppled
Gaddafi and left a patchwork of militias
vying for control over an oil-rich country riven by deep tribal and regional
divisions.
Thursday’s vote could see a repeat of a 2014 schism
which saw two parallel governments emerge.
The parliament has also adopted a “roadmap” towards
elections, which looks set to delay the polls further.
It says they must take place within 14 months of an
agreement on another divisive issue — a new constitutional declaration.
Dbeibah said Tuesday that if no new date for elections was
set he would launch consultations on “a plan of action” including elections and
an amendment of the country’s transitional constitution.
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