SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Libya: Dispute over presidency between Bashagha, Dbeibeh

After the Libyan Parliament assigned Fathi Bashagha as the new head of government, uncertainty and anticipation have characterised the political landscape in the country.

The High Council of State in Libya announced yesterday that a session will be held today to listen to the new head of government’s agenda amid a state of anticipation and looming political division. Meanwhile, Head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh remains in his current position.

The Tobruk-based Council of Deputies voted on Thursday for former Minister of the Interior Bashagha as the new head of government.

Bashagha called on the GNU to adhere to democracy and the peaceful transfer of power, while Dbeibeh stressed that he is preparing an initiative to solve the political crisis, rejecting “attempts to drag the Libyans into a new civil war.”

The United Nations indicated that it still recognises Dbeibeh as the head of the government in the country.

The tension between Bashagha and Dbeibeh brings Libya back to the phase of political division that the country witnessed after 2014. This comes at a time of fears of a conflict over legitimacy between the two governments. MEMO