Libya: surprise election of interim prime minister

Mr. Dabaiba and the three appointed members of the Presidency Council shall be with him Unifying state institutions and ensuring security Until the elections, the United Nations said, the country has lived in chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Two powers are competing for power amid foreign interference: in the West, the United Nations-backed National Union government (the Government of National Accord in Tripoli) and the Turkish-backed authority, and an authority embodied by Khalifa Haftar, a strongman from the East, who is particularly supportive of him. Russia.

The members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, who have met since Monday near Geneva in an undisclosed location, voted in favor of Abdelhamid Dabaiba’s list, by 39 votes out of 73.

This engineer from Misrata, founder of the Libya Future Movement, heads the Libyan Company for Investment and Development under the Gaddafi regime.

Mr. Dabaiba is a Influential businessman And the Quite controversialWolfram Lacher, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, says:

His companion in the elections, Muhammad Yunus Al-Exiled from Cyrenaica, was elected Chairman of the Interim Presidency Council.

He will be assisted by a vice-president: Musa al-Koni from the Tuareg, and Abdullah Hussein al-Lafi, a deputy from Zawiya.

The vote result was a surprise because the main influencers were on the other listLatcher says.

Mr. Dabaiba’s list was indeed strange compared to that of Speaker of Parliament Agila Saleh and the powerful Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha.

However, these two officials welcomed the vote, and the second said on Twitter that It is clear that democracy has been achieved.

a A long way

The governments of Germany, Italy, France, the United States and the United Kingdom welcomed the new interim government Friday evening in a joint statement, but warned that A long way Left to be covered.

The unified executive authority will need to implement the ceasefire agreement, provide basic public services to the Libyan people, launch a program of meaningful reconciliation, meet critical national budget needs and hold national elections. They added.

In New York, the Secretary-General of the United Nations welcomed Antonio Guterres Very good news in our quest for peace . After the ceasefire was agreed, the elections that took place now show that Libya is heading in the right direction , he added.

Russia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan also welcomed the appointment of the new team.

For his part, the head of the reconciliation government, Fayez al-Sarraj, is wanted Success For the new executive branch.

He was chosen prime minister in 2015, and al-Sarraj was unable to win the confidence of Parliament, which is based in the east, and to impose his authority over all political and military forces in the country.

The designated prime minister will have to train his government Within a period not exceeding 21 days Stephanie Williams, Acting UN Special Envoy to Libya, explained.

She said at a press conference that he would have an additional 21 days to obtain a vote of confidence in Parliament, which would lead, at most, to March 19.

United Nations observers

Caution still required: many agreements were concluded in recent years, but not implemented. The prime minister-designate will have to quickly assert his legitimacy on the ground with the myriad of political actors, some of whom have already distanced themselves from the Geneva talks.

After the failure of the attack launched by Field Marshal Haftar in April 2019 to invade Tripoli, the two camps reached a ceasefire in October and found a path for dialogue.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council ordered Antonio Guterres to deploy a vanguard of ceasefire monitors to Libya.

Ms. Williams stressed the need to enforce the ceasefire, saying the government should ensure this in particular Departure of mercenaries and foreign forces .

She also invited the new CEO to Launching a global national reconciliation process based on the principles of transitional justice And for Promote a culture of forgiveness, tolerance, truth-seeking and reparations.

The Libyan dialogue began in Tunisia in November 2020, and the participants agreed to hold elections the National December 24, 2021.