Appointed as part of a UN-sponsored peace process, Abdelhamid Dbeiba refuses to step down. It is true that his interim government had to continue until elections were held, which have not yet taken place! For the parliament elected in 2014, this delay in the elections effectively ended Abdelhamid Dbeibah’s term.
This term lasted until December 24, 2021, the date set for the presidential election. The fact that it did not take place does not change the case, according to the parliament. A new government had to be appointed. That, therefore, was done on March 1 with the recognition of Fati Bashaga as Prime Minister, with 92 votes from the 101 members of parliament present that day. Raising of hands, organized by Parliament Speaker Agila Saleh, a cashier from Eastern Libya. A lawsuit challenged by Dbeibah, who spoke of “obvious fraud in the vote count”. Some members claim that their vote was recorded while they were away.
For his part, Fati Bashaga said he had reached agreements with “security and military authorities” to set up his government in Tripoli. 29 ministers, three deputy prime ministers and six state ministers: a government that is considered bloated, illustrating the need to “break up” widely to establish Bashaga’s legitimacy. Negotiations were difficult, especially with Marshal Haftar’s clan.
“So here it is, Libya is back to square one with a government of ‘national unity’ in Tripoli led by Dbeibah, whose legitimacy is questionable at best, and another government forcibly approved by parliament in the east,” he said. he. Emededin Buddy, a researcher at the Global Initiative think tank, was quoted as saying by AFP.
Suffice it to say that all the ingredients are there to witness a new fire in the country. If Dbeibah failed to hold the poll expected on December 24, it was due to ongoing quarrels, in particular repeated complaints against certain candidates. Also due to the constant climate of uncertainty, which made it impossible to organize elections.
According to Reuters, “opposing armed groups have been mobilizing in the capital in recent weeks.” Recall that Abdelhamid Dbeiba was a candidate for the presidency, just like Fati Bashaga, but also Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man of Cyrenaica (East).
Two members of the new government were reportedly arrested and detained by an armed group while traveling on the road to Tobruk for the swearing-in ceremony on Thursday (March 3rd). If no country is identified, Fati Bashaga complains about obstacles set by the former government. That would even close Libyan airspace.
The United Nations, which wants and supports the election process for the suspended presidential election, has so far refrained from comment. However, this is the first problem against the fragile peace achieved in 2020.