The Libyan interim government presented a new vision for the war-torn country when the appointed prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, on Thursday proposed a structure in line with the UN roadmap.
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Dbeibah was selected earlier this month in a UN-sponsored dialogue between Libya, the latest internationally supported attempt to save the country from a decade of conflict and fragmented political fiefdoms.
But it was unclear how far progress has been made towards appointing a cabinet.
“Today we have presented a proposal for a structure and a functioning vision for a national unity government together with the selection criteria for (the) team … to the Speaker of Parliament,” Dbeibah told reporters in Tripoli.
He said the submission was in line with the deadline set by a UN roadmap, which requires at least 30% of the highest government tasks to be filled by women and young candidates.
He also told reporters that the names of proposed ministers would be revealed in parliament during a vote of confidence in his line-up.
But a statement on his Facebook page late on Thursday said he had not yet sent a list of names.
The premiere has until March 19 to win approval for a cabinet before tackling the gigantic task of uniting Libya’s dispersing institutions and leading the transition to December 24.
Dbeibah said his “main purpose is to bring Libyans together and to make ministerial competence a primary criterion.”
“We received more than 3,000 applications but could only study 2,300 of them,” said Dbeibah.
Dbeibah is expected to form his cabinet by February 26.
In a larger development, 74 members of the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) with rival political groups elected a temporary unity government on February 5 after five days of UN-mediated talks in Switzerland. The move has ignited the hope of political stability.
Mohammad Younes Menfi was elected head of the interim government chairmanship. Dbeibah was elected Prime Minister. Mossa al-Koni and Abdullah Hussein al-Lafi were also elected as the other two members of the Presidency.
The LPDF was launched in Tunisia on 9 November to find a political solution to the Libyan crisis under the leadership of the UN Libya’s support mission. The forum represents the three main regions of Libya: Tripolitania (west), Barqa / Cyrenaica (east) and Fezzan (south).
The interim government will replace the Tripoli-based National Accord Government (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj. GNA joined in 2015 under a UN-led agreement. But efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to a military offensive launched by militias loyal to Libyan putsch general Khalifa Haftar.
The UN had recognized the Sarraj government, which was also supported by Turkey, as the country’s legitimate authority.
It faces the daunting challenge of addressing the complaints of ordinary Libyans who have been hit by a severe economic crisis, high unemployment, miserable public services and crippling inflation.
Dbeibah must overcome not only critics at home but foreign powers with competing interests in Libya.
In addition, the conflict – free country’s deputies cannot even decide where to convene a vote on Dbeibah’s team.
Aqila Saleh, the speaker of the eastern Tobruk parliament and known for his support for Haftar, wants to hold the session in Sirte, halfway between east and west, but the majority of legislators prefer Sabratha, west of Tripoli.
If a decision-making procedure for Parliament is not complied with, the 75 delegates who took part in the Swiss talks would vote for the CEO.
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