Tripoli -

The national unity government in Libya is witnessing a sharp dispute between Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba and his deputy representing the eastern region, Hussein al-Qatrani, and a number of ministers representing the eastern region.

The differences escalated recently after the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for the Eastern Region announced the suspension of work at its airports in mid-October, in a move to pressure the government.

The prime minister is trying to resolve the internal rift that escalated after a number of its representatives in the eastern Cyrenaica region, including his deputy, Hussein al-Qatrani, demanded greater representation in state institutions and a greater share in development.

Fears that differences within the Libyan government will cast a shadow over the elections scheduled for next December (Anatolia)

A political struggle, not a regional one

In a speech to the people of Cyrenaica, Dabaiba said that this conflict is not a regional battle, but rather a political battle par excellence, and "we in the government disagree and agree, but no one can talk about a region."

Hussein Al-Qatrani, Deputy Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, spoke about the reason for his dispute with Dabaiba, and the subsequent developments following the announcement of the statement of the representatives of Cyrenaica, which caused an internal conflict in the government.

Al-Qatrani said that the beginning of the dispute with Dabaiba was at the launch of projects for the return of life, as he demanded the formation of a committee to study and launch projects in the eastern region due to the lack of budgets allocated to it.

Al-Qatrani pointed out that Dabaiba accused him of disrupting the "Return of Life" project in the eastern region, saying, "I will not announce projects without ready allocations, I am not a media outlet," and demanded that this be achieved before returning to his duties in the government.

A delegation of government representatives in Cyrenaica attacked al-Dabaiba, describing it as not adhering to the road map, failing to rise to national responsibility, and seeking to obstruct the electoral process scheduled for the end of next December.

Dabaiba assigned a government team on an internal mission to Benghazi to conduct visits to the government's public sectors and meet Deputy Prime Minister Al-Qatrani, urging him to return to his work.


unfulfilled promises

Member of Parliament Muhammad Al-Abani considered that Dabaiba made many promises "in efforts to gain the confidence of his government in Parliament, but he did not fulfill his promises to the Libyans."

Al-Abani told Al-Jazeera Net, "I do not agree with those who use the term national unity government for the Dabaiba government, and I previously described it in the confidence-giving session as a local quota government that was founded on an abhorrent territorial division, and to satisfy the members of the House of Representatives and the Dialogue Committee known as 75."

Al-Abani stressed that the demands of the eastern region are based on previous unfulfilled promises, in addition to the weak central administrative system and Law No. "59" on local administration that made Dabaiba focus his administration on the capital, Tripoli.

Al-Abani pointed out that Dabaiba's actions resulted in a feeling of marginalization, which increased when financial allocations were not included in the salaries of workers in state institutions for more than 3 months, including the salaries of the General Command of the Army (headed by Khalifa Haftar).

Al-Abani believes that these differences negatively affect the conduct of the elections and determine their date and mechanism, indicating that the solution lies in reorganizing the administration and restructuring the state, and implementing a local government that suits the Libyan state.

Balqassem Debarz says that Major General Khalifa Haftar (left) is the one who dominates the east (Al-Jazeera)

They do not have their own decision

For his part, a member of the Supreme Council of State, Qassem Dabarz, stated that the quarrels that took place between the prime minister and his ministers and agents from the eastern region clearly showed that they had nothing of their own and did not represent the national unity government.

Dabars asked in a statement to Al Jazeera Net, "Where was he when the government was prevented from holding a session in Benghazi at the beginning of its formation? Then the government was prevented from holding a session in Sabha, Ghat and Kufra, and they are all silent, and everyone knows the suffering of the people in these areas?"

According to Dabars, "Prime Minister Dabaiba refuted the demands that representatives of the eastern region complain about their marginalization, with numbers and evidence that were previously misleading on the residents of eastern Libya."

Dabarz attributed the causes of the dispute to the "Al-Rajma" region, where - as he says - "Haftar dominates everything small and large in eastern Libya, and moves ministers and agents like puppets to achieve his goals and ambitions, through unjust and illegal demands to obtain funds through known extortion that is open to all." .

Dabars believes that this dispute may negatively affect the elections, with what he described as "irresponsible tampering," noting that the solution lies in moving forward with the government's program and taking legal measures, if necessary, to dismiss all those who are proven to be involved and refer them to the judiciary and the attorney general.

A picture of the National Forum to support elections in Libya (communication sites)

confuse the scene

For his part, political analyst Abdullah Al-Kabeer believes that the dispute is another attempt to confuse the Libyan scene and re-split to disrupt the elections.

Al-Kabeer added, "The first attempt was through Parliament after the withdrawal of confidence in preparation for the formation of a new government, and the re-mixing of papers, with another personal goal related to Al-Qatrani and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Faraj Qaim, which is to obtain funds to be disposed of under the pretext of paying the debts of the previous interim government, and on the pretext of the needs of the security directorates in the East".

Al-Kabeer told Al-Jazeera Net that Dabaiba's clarification of Cyrenaica's share of the positions of state institutions contributed to the failure of the government bombing project, noting that the crisis was not yet complete.

The analyst considered that Qatani and Qaim's failure to acquiesce in the government's program would "slightly affect" the electoral process, in addition to the greater impact of the continuing disagreement over electoral laws rejected by political parties, and the absence of consensus so far, which will lead to delays or weak participation in the elections.