Libya factions elect interim government to lead country into December polls

The United Nations-led process to bring back peace in Libya chose a new interim government on Friday that will lead the country to elections in December. A 74-member delegate chose the new Presidency Council, which has three members, including a Prime Minister. Out of the four lists submitted for vote on Friday, Mohammad Younes Menfi-led Presidency Council won the trust of the delegates. 

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Parliament scrutiny next month

Menfi will be the President of the Presidency Council with Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah as his Prime Minister. Dbeibah will be required to form a new government, which will have to stand the test of parliamentary scrutiny next month before it gets approval. Menfi, an east-born former diplomat, is seen close to the western-based Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. 

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The internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) have been fighting a civil war in Libya since 2014, three years after the fall of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Last year, both sides signed an UN-brokered ceasefire agreement in Geneva following a failed military offensive by the general Khalifa Haftar-led LNA, which was launched in 2019 with an intention to seize the capital Tripoli from GNA-backed forces. 

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Menfi's win came as a surprise for many as the current west-based Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha was seen as the most likely candidate to win the vote. However, Bashagha lost the vote by 34 to 39 votes. Bashagha later tweeted his support for the new Presidency Council and wished them success. Turkey, which supports the Tripoli-based GNA, and the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, who back Haftar-led LNA, also welcomed the new government. 

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(Image Credit: AP)