Libyan parliament gives confidence to new gov’t

IslamNews – Libya’s parliament on Wednesday approved an interim government mandated to bring the fractured country together after a decade of chaos and violence, and to oversee elections in December as part of a U.N.-backed peace plan, As Reuters reported.

The parliament’s approval of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh’s cabinet by 132 votes to two against, at a session in a war-battered frontline city, represents the biggest opportunity in years for a resolution to Libya’s conflict.

“Through this vote, it became clear that the Libyans are one unit,” Dbeibeh told parliament afterwards.

However, huge hurdles remain and the manner of Dbeibeh’s own appointment and the size of his cabinet have drawn criticism in Libya with accusations of corruption and influence peddling that spoilers could leverage to deny his legitimacy.

Both the GNA and the eastern administration welcomed the vote and said they were ready to hand power over to the new government. Parliament speaker Aguila Saleh said Dbeibeh’s cabinet would be sworn in next week.

It was parliament’s first full session in years after it split between eastern and western factions soon after being elected in 2014 – three years after an uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi plunged the oil-producing country into chaos.

Source: Reuters