Libya’s Prime Minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has submitted a proposed government lineup to parliament for approval, which is a key step towards unifying the country that plunged into chaos after long-term leader Muammar Gaddafi’s removal in 2011, reported CGTN Africa.
Libya has been divided between two rival administrations since 2015- the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and the House of Representatives (HOR) in Tobruk.
“In accordance with the roadmap of the political agreement, [Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah] handed over to the speaker of elected parliament his proposals for ministerial portfolios,” his office said in a statement on Thursday.
The names in Prime Minister Dbeibah’s proposed cabinet list have not yet been made public. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the list on Monday in the central coastal city of Sirte. According to the U.N. plan, the prime minister has to get approval for a Cabinet until March 19, before unifying Libya’s proliferating institutions and leading the transition until the Dec. 24 polls.
Once approved, the new cabinet would replace Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj, and a parallel administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Dbeibah was selected by the members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in a United Nations-sponsored dialogue last month, the latest internationally-backed bid to rescue Libya from a decade of conflict and fragmented politics.
An interim three-member presidency council was also selected to head a unity administration and oversee national elections at the end of the year. Mohammad Younes Menfi, Mossa al-Koni, and Abdullah Hussein al-Lafi were voted as the members of the presidency council.
The council faces the daunting challenge of addressing major issues looming the country and the ordinary Libyans who have been adversely affected by a dire economic crisis, soaring unemployment, wretched public services and crippling inflation.
