A new unity government was formed in Libya led by businessman Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, which was born from a political dialogue track sponsored by the United Nations, and won the confidence of Parliament on Wednesday in a "historic" vote.
The new executive authority - according to the road map drawn up by the United Nations and led to the appointment of Dabaiba at the beginning of last February in Geneva with a presidential council of 3 members - must unite institutions to get the country out of the conflict that has acquired international dimensions, and lead the transition until elections are held on December 24. Next December.
So what are the next steps?
Abd al-Hamid al-Dabaiba, 61, is sworn in next Monday in Benghazi (east), the cradle of the revolution against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
The outgoing Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj, has expressed "full readiness" to hand over power.
The government of Dabaiba - a notable of the coastal city of Misurata (west) - will replace the government of national accord and the parallel government led by Abdullah al-Thinni, which administers the region of Cyrenaica (east), which is under the effective control of the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar.
Last Thursday, the European Union and its member states welcomed parliament's confidence in the new government, but threatened to impose sanctions on anyone who violates the existing ceasefire agreement.
The Dabaiba government - according to the UN road map - must make the necessary preparations for the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for next December 24, which is the date of the end of its mission.
What are the main potential challenges?
The unified government must meet the urgent aspirations of Libyans, especially the frequent power cuts, cash shortages and rampant inflation after a decade of chaos.
Dabaiba committed himself to solving the power outage crisis within 6 months, and also promised to combat corruption and the Corona epidemic, which has been increasingly criticized over the way to deal with it.
The oil sector is an important challenge as well. According to a report by researcher Hamish Kinnear at the Verisk Maplecroft Institute, the formation of a unified government is "good news for the Libyan oil sector that can benefit from strengthening political stability."
Kinnear also estimates that - based on Abdul Hamid Dabaiba's "apparent cooperation" with Khalifa Haftar and Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh - "it is likely that a distribution mechanism will be reached soon" for the revenues.
On the other hand, the dismantling of the armed factions seems essential to calm the situation, but researcher Kinnear cautioned that some factions "will be reluctant to give up arms and independence."
What are the chances of success?
According to Kenner, what distinguishes the Dabaiba government from its failed predecessors is that it is "the first unified government in Libya since 2014", and has given it confidence as "the legitimate Libyan government is a big step forward in the reunification efforts."
The Government of National Accord had the support of Turkey, which supported it militarily in repelling the attack launched by Haftar on the west of the country in April 2019, and the latter benefited from the support of Russia and the UAE, and Kinnear believed that the situation would not change, because the Russian and Turkish intervention "will continue." In addition, "the UAE military intervention in support of Haftar will also continue."
Timing plays in favor of the new government, as Libyans are tired of divisions, and calls are increasing for ending the presence of foreign forces, some of them coming from the Libyan political elite.