Abdel Hamid Dbeibah elected Transitional Prime Minister in Libya
The new Libyan executive has less than a year to meet a number of significant challenges.
AFP / File
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The 73 participants in the inter-Libyan dialogue gathered under the auspices of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland this Friday, February 5, elected Abdel Hamid Dbeibah as head of the interim government.
The appointment of a new Libyan executive in Geneva is certainly a step forward in the Libyan political process, but the new Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah and his team, elected by surprise, must now assert his legitimacy on the ground.
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A tough task awaits the new Libyan rulers.
The first, and perhaps the most difficult, is to be able to assert oneself on the ground, in the face of the many antagonistic factions which influence political decision-making.
Some have already clearly announced that they will distance themselves from Geneva and seek at all costs to consolidate their position in power.
This is the case of several warlords who do not seem ready to give up their achievements.
The 2015 UN political process, which led to the Skhirat accord and brought to power the government of national unity headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, never won the confidence of Parliament, which accentuated divisions.
Are there more reasons today to accept this new power that some already qualify as “
government of the Muslim Brotherhood
”?
Fayez al-Sarraj, was not able, either at the time, to dissolve the militias as provided for in the political agreement.
Abdel Hamid Dbeibah today inherits a much more complex situation.
In addition to the powerful militias, we must now deal with the 20,000 foreign mercenaries present in the territory and who
do not seem ready to leave
.
The Prime Minister will also have to secure the country, overcome divisions, unify institutions, launch a comprehensive process of national reconciliation and organize general elections on December 24.
All this in less than a year.
The head of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj on Friday welcomed the appointment in Geneva of a Prime Minister and three members of the Presidential Council.
"
We welcome the success of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum with the appointment of a new executive and I congratulate those who have been chosen at the head of these responsibilities (...) in this difficult period
", wishing them "
success in their mission,
”he said in a statement posted on the GNA's Facebook page.
The governments of Germany, Italy, France, the United States and the United Kingdom welcomed the new interim government of Libya but warned that a "long way" remains to be covered.
"
The unified executive authority will have to implement the ceasefire agreement, provide essential public services to the Libyan people, launch a meaningful reconciliation program, address critical national budget needs, and hold national elections.
" , they said in a joint statement released by the German Foreign Ministry.
► Read also:
Pacifying Libya: the impossible mission of the future UN special envoy?
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