Libya speaker calls for 'representative' government

Libya speaker calls for 'representative' government
The head of Libya's parliament called the interim prime minister to form a "representative" government.
2 min read
27 February, 2021
Parliament speaker Aguila Saleh said "everyone should be represented" in Libya's new government [Getty]

The head of Libya's parliament on Friday called on the country's interim prime minister to form a government that represents all factions in the crisis-hit North African nation to overcome "differences".

Interim prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Thursday said he had submitted a "vision" for a cabinet line-up that would help steer Libya to elections in December.

Powerful parliament speaker Aguila Saleh said Dbeibah should choose "competent people with integrity, from across the country, in order to achieve (national) consensus" for his government.

"There are differences," Saleh told reporters in Rabat, after talks with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

"Everyone should be represented so that (Libya) can emerge from the tunnel," Saleh added.

Dbeibah on Thursday said he faced a Friday deadline to form his government.

He also told reporters the names of proposed ministers will be disclosed in parliament during a vote of confidence for his line-up. 

"We submitted today a proposition for a structure and a working vision of a national unity government along with the selection criteria for (that) team... to the speaker of parliament," Dbeibah said Thursday evening.

The premier has until March 19 to win approval for a cabinet, before tackling the giant task of unifying Libya's proliferating institutions and leading the transition up to December 24 polls.

If approved, a new cabinet would replace a Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez Al-Sarraj, and a parallel administration in eastern Libya backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Dbeibah was selected early this month in a UN-sponsored inter-Libyan dialogue, the latest internationally backed bid to salvage the country from a decade of conflict and fragmented political fiefdoms.

The interim premier had also been expected to hold talks Friday in Morocco with Bourita, but he did not travel to Rabat because he was "busy with domestic affairs", the foreign minister said.

Oil-rich Libya has been riven by violence since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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