Abdul Hamid Dbeibah

Eleven years after the overthrow of dictator Moammar Gaddafi, Libya's transition process continues as Libyans find themselves with two prime ministers, a situation that threatens to unleash a new power struggle in the war-torn nation. Just weeks after national elections scheduled for December 24 were postponed indefinitely, the East-based parliament voted to appoint the influential former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha to replace the Provisional Unity Government. Incumbent Prime Minister Abdul Hamid…

The appointment of a new prime minister before an official session of the Supreme Council is an "inappropriate move and does not help build trust between the two councils," Libya's president said in an early statement. Wednesday. The High Council of State (HCS) - a Tripoli-based body equivalent to a Senate - competes with the House of Representatives (HoR), based in the eastern city of Tobruk. The HoR this week "unanimously" approved former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha to lead the government, a…

A new power struggle has deepened the Libyan crisis following the Tobruk - based House of Representatives' appointment of former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha as prime minister on Thursday, while incumbent Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah promised to remain in office until national elections are held. The failure to hold discussions on the legitimacy of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), originally scheduled for December 24, has led to differences of opinion in the western part of the…

Fathi Bashagha, who was recently appointed interim prime minister by Libya's Tobruk-based parliament to lead the country to elections last week, has launched talks to form a new government, he said in a video posted on Facebook on Sunday. In his statement, Bashagha said that he promised not to run as a candidate in the election and that he would transfer power through peaceful and constitutional means. He claimed that his initial talks with the military and security units were positive and that he had…

Leaders and revolutionaries of the force that supports the Libyan army on Saturday condemned the election of Fathi Bashagha as head of the new government, a move that risks triggering a new power struggle in the war-torn nation. In a statement read on Martyrs' Square in the capital Tripoli, they said that the support force condemned "the absurd situation that contradicts the results of the political dialogue forum and wants the country to enter a new transition phase." Decisions taken in the House of…

Free and fair elections in Libya should be held "in the shortest possible time," said UN Special Adviser to Libya Stephanie Williams as she met with senior politicians, stressing the need for calm. Williams said on Twitter that she met the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and also Fathi Bashagha, named by the parliament of the East-based pro-Putist General Khalifa Haftar, to lead a new government in a process rejected by the government. incumbent Prime Minister.…

Libya's western-based upper house on Saturday defended a decision by lawmakers in the country's east to appoint a new prime minister as institutional chaos prevails. The High Council of State (HCS) - a Tripoli-based body equivalent to a senate - usually competes with the House of Representatives (HoR), based in the eastern city of Tobruk. The HoR this week "unanimously" approved former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha to lead the government, a move that left Libya with two prime ministers and…

UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday called for elections to be held in Libya as soon as possible after the country found itself with two competing prime ministers, which raises the specter of renewed violence. The Secretary-General reminded "all institutions of the primary objective of holding national elections as soon as possible", in a statement saying that he "notes" the name of the Libyan Parliament on a new Prime Minister. The UN chief's statement did not name either Libya's interim prime…

The United Nations has said it still recognizes Libya's interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, after the eastern parliament in the war-torn country on Thursday appointed a former interior minister. Dbeibah escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt early on Thursday in the capital Tripoli. "We have seen press reports about the assassination, but we have not received any confirmation," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told a news conference. Dujarric…

Libya's interim prime minister on Friday dismissed parliament's threat to withdraw confidence from its unity government, saying in a speech that its failure to approve his budget had put the state's work back. Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who took office in March, said that the Eastern Pro-Putist general Khalifa Haftar's reasons for not approving his repeated budget proposals were "unrealistic and fuzzy" and blamed the body for obstructing planned elections in December. The budget dispute has emerged as a core…