Libyan lawmakers voted to end the term of the Tripoli-based government led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Tuesday.
In a statement, parliamentary spokesman Abdullah Belhaiq said the assembly voted to consider the eastern Libya-based cabinet of Osama Hammad as “the legitimate government until a new unified government is elected.”
The parliament also appointed its speaker, Aguila Saleh, as commander of the Libyan armed forces in place of the presidency’s advice.
There was no immediate comment from Dbeibah’s government or the Presidency Council on the decisions.
On Monday, the presidency’s council created a new agency for national referendums and investigations, in a move rejected by parliament.
Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.
The country is currently ruled by two rival administrations: the UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Dbeibeh in Tripoli, which controls the western part of the country, and Osama Hammad’s government, appointed by the parliament, which operates from Benghazi and controls it eastern region and parts of the south.
Efforts led by the United Nations to hold parliamentary and presidential elections have repeatedly stalled, prolonging the country’s political stalemate and worsening the security situation in the oil-rich nation.
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