Libya Parliament To Vote On Interim PM's New Cabinet

Sirte, Libya, March 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Mar, 2021 ) :Libya's parliament meets Monday ahead of a vote on a new interim unity government for the divided country, a crucial step toward December elections and stability after a decade of violence.

Libya descended into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that has seen rival forces vying for power in the oil-rich North African country.

A UN-supervised process aims to unite the country after a ceasefire reached last October between forces loyal to two rival administrations, each backed by foreign powers, based in the east and west of the country.

The 188-strong House of Representatives was meeting in the coastal city of Sirte, the hometown of Kadhafi, located halfway between Tripoli, where the UN-recognised government is based, and the east, seat of the rival administration.

Prime minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah was selected in February at a UN-sponsored dialogue attended by a cross section of Libyans to steer the country toward the scheduled December 24 polls.

His interim government faces the daunting challenge of addressing the grievances of Libyans, from a dire economic crisis and soaring unemployment to crippling inflation and wretched public services.

Dbeibah, a billionaire businessman, submitted his 33-member cabinet line-up to parliament for approval last week, without publicly revealing any Names.

If approved, it would replace the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and the eastern-based administration backed by strongman Khalifa Haftar.

An interim three-member presidency council, selected alongside Dbeibah last month, is to head the new unity administration.

If deputies fail to endorse the government on Monday, a new vote must take place, and Dbeibah has until March 19 to win approval for his cabinet.

In a televised speech ahead of the vote, Dbeibah urged lawmakers to seize the moment and vote to confirm the government.

"I call on the deputies not to miss the chance to unify parliament with this meeting today... so as to allow the government to immediately accomplish the difficult tasks" ahead, he said.