The Libyan parliament appointed former Interior Minister Fati Basaga as his replacement today Abdelhamid Dbeiba its head governmentwith a controversial vote likely to intensify power struggles in Libya.
In recent weeks, however, Dbeiba, based in the capital Tripoli, has announced that he will hand over power only to a government that has emerged from the polls, while criticizing the parliament’s intentions.
“Parliament unanimously casts its vote of confidence in Fati Bashaga as head of government,” said Abdallah Blichek, a member of parliament, after a meeting in Tobruk, eastern Libya.
Parliament had ratified two of the seven nominations: those of Basaga, 59, and that of outsider Khaled Al-Bibas, 51, a former high-ranking official in the same ministry.
Ahead of the vote, Parliament Speaker Angela Saleh, one of the main opponents of the Diba government, said Bibas had withdrawn his candidacy, leaving only Basha as a candidate.
The sitting was broadcast live and the broadcast was suspended at the time of the vote. According to Libyan media, Bibas denied that he had withdrawn his candidacy.
Basaga and Dibeba, both from western Libya, each have the support of armed groups in Tripoli. The two politicians, who maintain a strong rivalry, were also candidates in the presidential elections scheduled for December, before being postponed indefinitely.
“I will not accept any new phase of transition or parallel power,” Dbeiba warned in a televised speech on Tuesday, stressing that his interim government would only hand over power to “an elected government”.
The Tobruk-based parliament estimates that the government’s term expired with the postponement of the elections, but the government assures that its mission was to last until the appointment of a government that will emerge from the polls.
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