Libya’s east-based parliament on Thursday unanimously named former interior minister Fathi Bashagha as the country’s new Prime Minister, replacing Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, reported Daily Sabah.
“The House of Representatives unanimously approved Fathi Bashagha to head the government,” the parliament’s spokesperson Abdullah Bliheg informed in a tweet.
The new prime minister will replace Dbeibah who was appointed as Libya’s interim prime minister a year ago as part of United Nations-led peace efforts. His government had a mandate to lead the country to elections on Dec. 24.
The December election was canceled over disputes between rival factions on laws governing the election and the list of controversial candidacies for the presidential post. The east-based lawmakers have argued that the mandate of Dbeibah’s government ended on that date.
The self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar, who recently returned to the role after stepping down to run for president, said Thursday it welcomed the selection of Bashagha.
The appointment of the new prime minister threatens to spark a new power struggle between the eastern-based government and Dbeibah’s Tripoli-based administration.
In a televised address to the nation earlier this week, Dbeibah had vowed that he would not accept any new transitional phase of parallel authority and declared he would not step down and only hand over power to an elected government.
Libya’s election commission has already announced that there will be no elections this year as it needs at least eight months to prepare for a new vote.
Early on Thursday, Dbeibah also escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt in the capital, Tripoli. The incident took place when Dbeibah was returning home in his car, and shots were fired from another vehicle, hinting at a clear assassination attempt. As per the report, the attackers fled and the incident has been referred for investigation.
