Despite the selection of Bashagha, the United Nations announces its continued support for Dabaiba
Dujarric was asked during his daily press conference whether the United Nations still recognized Dabaiba as prime minister, and he replied: “Yes.”
And earlier on Thursday, the Libyan House of Representatives chose Fathi Bashagha as the new head of the government, after a vote that took place in Tobruk, in the east of the country.
The move is expected to intensify political differences in the country, as current Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba has pledged to stay in power.
The House of Representatives also approved, by an absolute majority, the constitutional amendment, which paves the way for the resumption of the faltering political roadmap.
Parliament is seeking to chart the country’s political future, after elections scheduled for December faltered, saying that Dabaiba’s interim government “is no longer legitimate and may not continue its work.”
Analysts say that the result of Thursday’s steps may be a return to the division that appeared to have ended last March, with the installation of a national unity government headed by Dabaiba.
Before that, two competing governments operated in the west of the country, and in the east, each supported rival factions.
About 3 million Libyans were registered to vote in the December elections, and the political conflict and delay that followed angered and frustrated many of them.
