The head of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, said that the election train has started and there is no turning back, and that they will not mortgage their future again to those who have lost their national eligibility, as he put it, amid growing fears of a political division in the country.

Today, Monday, Dabaiba indicated that his government would not allow what he called the extension conspiracy to pass again, noting that they had formed a ministerial committee headed by the Minister of Justice to choose an independent national team to draw up an election plan.

Dabaiba stressed the need for the government to provide its services away from political bias.

And earlier, Mohamed Hammouda, a spokesman for the Libyan National Unity Government, said that the Dabaiba government enjoys legal legitimacy locally and internationally, and will continue until power is handed over to an elected government.

The spokesman added that the competence of the House of Representatives, according to the road map, is to grant confidence to the ministerial formation, not to determine the mandate of the prime minister.

He stressed that the procedure for withdrawing confidence from the government is restricted by the political agreement with the approval of the State Council, and the vote of 120 deputies, which did not happen, according to Hammouda.

road map

Earlier on Sunday, Dabaiba stressed the need to complete the road map approved in Geneva.

He also stressed, during a meeting with the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Libya, Stephanie Williams, the responsibility of all parties to create the appropriate conditions for holding national elections and holding a referendum on the constitution during this year.

Dabaiba reiterated his rejection of the parliament's announcement last Thursday naming former Minister of Interior Bashagha as head of the new government.

Dabaiba had said - in a tweet to him on Twitter - that the election train in his country has started and will only stop with an elected legitimate authority.

Special Adviser Williams called on both Dabaiba and Bashagha, whom Parliament passed a resolution to assign, to maintain calm and stability.

Libya was scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections last December, but disagreements between factions and state agencies over how to conduct the elections led to the collapse of the process days before the vote.

I also met today, Prime Minister-designate, Mr. Fathi Bashagha, and stressed the need to move forward in a transparent and consensual manner without any exclusion, and stressed the maintenance of stability in Tripoli and throughout the country, and that the focus should continue to be held on holding free, fair and inclusive national elections as soon as possible. Maybe.

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— Stephanie Turco Williams (@SASGonLibya) February 13, 2022

A call to stability

Williams said on Twitter that, during her meeting with Bashagha, she stressed "the need to move forward in a transparent and consensual manner without any exclusion," and stressed the maintenance of stability in Tripoli and throughout the country.

She added that the focus should continue to be "holding free, fair and inclusive national elections as soon as possible."

For his part, Bashagha said that he discussed with the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Libya, Stephanie Williams, ways to form a new government in a transparent and fair manner.

He stressed the necessity of holding the elections on the specified date, reiterating his commitment not to run for the upcoming presidential elections.

Bashagha added, in his recorded speech, that he began conducting consultations to form his government with the State Council, Parliament and civil society institutions.

He said that intellectuals and young people will be among the main components of his future government.


a mess

Libya, which has the largest oil reserves in Africa, has been in chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 in the midst of a popular uprising backed by NATO.

After years of violence, a political process under the auspices of the United Nations led to the appointment of Abdel Hamid Dabaiba as prime minister in early 2021 to manage the transitional period until the holding of presidential and legislative elections.

But the vote, which was scheduled for December 2021, was postponed indefinitely due to differences between the actors.

The parliament, which is based in the eastern city of Tobruk, believes that the term of the Dabaiba government ended after the elections were postponed, but the latter announced that he would hand over power only to an elected government.

Parliament gave Fathi Bashagha a deadline until February 24 to form his government and present it to a vote.