Tuesday saw a vote in the eastern-based parliament of Libya to oust Fathi Bashagha as prime minister after the incumbent Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah refused to hand over authority in Tripoli, according to a spokesperson for the body.
According to parliament spokesperson Abdullah Belhaiq, Osama Hamad of Bashagha was given the task of taking over as finance minister as part of an apparent renewed effort to depose Dbeibah and appoint a new administration in Tripoli.
Although Bashagha was appointed in March 2022, his attempts to enter Tripoli and assume office were unsuccessful because to conflict between factions supporting him and those supporting Dbeibah. As a result, he has been forced to function outside of Tripoli without access to state funds.
Without indicating when or when he intended to resume them, he wrote to the parliament early on Tuesday to inform them that he was delegating his responsibilities to his deputy Ali Qatrani. According to a person close to him, Bashagha is taking a leave of absence.
Other members of the chamber have occasionally contested votes and other actions that the legislative authorities have announced after accusing the speaker, Aguila Saleh, of advancing policies outside of the established channels.
Since the NATO-supported rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has had little peace. It also split in 2014 into warring eastern and western factions, though major combat has ceased since a ceasefire in 2020.
Elections were scheduled to take place in 2021 when Dbeibah’s administration was established through a U.N.-backed process, but they were postponed due to disagreements about the procedures.
The aim of diplomacy at this point is to persuade the parliament and another legislative body, the High State Council, to agree on the conditions necessary for an election to take place.
Senior lawmakers have pushed for a new temporary administration before any election, a move that their detractors view as a stalling strategy to avoid a ballot and maintain their positions.
Those who oppose Dbeibah may believe that by removing Bashagha, they might get enough support from other forces in western Libya to remove him and obtain access to state funds.
The High State Council, which never recognised the appointment of Bashagha, called the parliament’s move to replace him a “political absurdity” in a statement.