Libya’s rival factions back unity government ahead of December elections
10 March 2021, 11:44
The country has been divided since the ousting and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libyan politicians confirmed a newly appointed government on Wednesday to lead the war-wrecked country through elections by the end of the year.
The government of prime minister designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah replaces two rival administrations that have been ruling the North African country for years.
More than 130 members of the House of Representatives engaged in two-day deliberations in the coastal city of Sirte.
The confirmation came after Mr Dbeibah last week presented his proposed Cabinet to Speaker Aguila Saleh.
Mr Dbeibah, a powerful businessman from the western city of Misrata, was appointed last month to lead the executive branch of an interim government that also includes a three-member Presidential Council chaired by Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat from the country’s east.
The transitional government is to lead the country through elections, scheduled for December 24, according to a UN-brokered road map.
Mr Dbeibah’s proposed Cabinet includes 33 ministers and two deputy prime ministers who he said are representative of Libya’s different geographic areas and social segments.
Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos after a 2011 Nato-backed uprising toppled and killed long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The country has been divided between two governments, one in the east and another in the west, each backed by a vast array of militias as well as foreign powers.
