BENGHAZI,
Libya —
Libya found itself with rival governments on Tuesday after parliament approved
a new cabinet in a challenge to unity premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who has
refused to cede power until elections.
اضافة اعلان
In a vote some fear could help tip the
conflict-scarred nation into another round of violence, the cabinet of former
interior minister Fathi Bashagha was approved by 92 of 101 members present,
speaker Aguila Saleh said.
The
House of Representatives (HoR) in the
eastern city of Tobruk had designated Bashagha as prime minister earlier this
month.
It had tasked him with forming a government
to replace that of Dbeibah, based in the capital Tripoli in the west of the
country and deemed by Saleh as having outlived its mandate.
But Dbeibah has repeatedly said he will only
hand power to an elected government.
The construction tycoon had been appointed a
year earlier as part of
UN-led efforts to draw a line under a decade of
conflict following the 2011 revolt that toppled dictator
Muammar Gaddafi.
He was to lead the country until elections in
December, but they were indefinitely postponed and Saleh, a rival presidential
candidate, argued that Dbeibah’s mandate was finished.
On Tuesday, the cabinet of 29 ministers,
three vice-prime ministers and six ministers of state — including just two
women — was put before the legislature.
Each lawmaker was asked to vote “confidence”
or “no confidence” when the names were read out, but Saleh announced the
government had been approved before all the names were announced.
War
of words
Dbeibah’s
government swiftly issued a statement condemning what it said was a “blatantly”
fraudulent vote.
“Several members of the HoR said they were
not in Tobruk but were counted” among those present, “which still didn’t reach
quorum”, it said.
But in a video message, Bashagha insisted the
vote had been “clear, transparent and public”.
“The most important things we are working for
today are reconciliation, participation and stability,” he said, adding that
his government would “take over its tasks in the capital Tripoli peacefully and
securely”.
Dbeibah’s office responded with a second
statement, vowing to continue its tasks and accusing the legislature of
threatening Libya’s stability.
It added that it would take legal action and
“hold accountable anyone who dares to approach any government building”.
Return
to armed conflict?
The
legislature had earlier issued a statement condemning “death threats targeting many
members of parliament and their families” prior to the vote.
Elected in 2014, its eastern location
contrasts with that of Dbeibah’s administration, which sits in the capital
Tripoli in western Libya, reflecting the deep and complex divisions that have
plagued the country in recent years.
The emergence of Bashagha’s government once
again gives the country two prime ministers, as was the case between 2014 and a
landmark east-west ceasefire in 2020.
It is a major challenge to Dbeibah, whose
statement Tuesday repeated that his government intends to hold legislative
elections in June.
Bashagha, a 59-year-old former fighter pilot
trainer from Misrata near
Tripoli, is backed by eastern military chief Khalifa
Haftar whose disastrous 2019–2020 attack on the capital ended in defeat and a
return to UN peace efforts.
During Bashagha’s stint as interior minister
in 2018–2021, he worked to reduce the influence of militias and bring fighters
into state-run forces.
He is one of the few major Libyan actors to
have good relations with foreign powers backing rival sides in the country.
But Libya analyst
Wolfram Lacher wrote on
Twitter after the vote that “what I can’t see is how (Bashagha’s cabinet being
approved) can bring stability.”
“By contrast, the potential for renewed conflict is real,
even if it builds up over time rather than erupts immediately.”
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