Libyan parliament summons Dabaiba to discuss formation of new government

CAIRO - 9 March 2020: On Monday, the Libyan parliament summoned Prime Minister-designate of the new Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, to attend the Tuesday session of the House of Representatives to discuss the formation of the government presented to parliament to gain confidence.

The House of Representatives discussed the program presented by Dabaiba, which some believe needs to define more precise tasks.

The discussions of members of the Libyan House of Representatives during the general consultative session in Sirte on Monday focused on the importance of including the outcomes of the political dialogue in Geneva in the Constitutional Declaration to prevent any attempts to doubt the selection of the recent executive authority.

Parliament members urged Dabaiba to format a minimal government, also, to not rely on the principle of "courtesy and favoritism" for members of parliament.

The Libyan parliament session, devoted to voting to give confidence to the recent government, witnessed differences between members of the Libyan parliament regarding the government's work program, the need to adhere to the roadmap that will lead to the holding of the Libyan elections on December 24, and the importance of gaining a constitutional base to conduct the electoral process.

For his part, Aguila Saleh, speaker of the Libyan Parliament, stressed the importance of overcoming many obstacles, to hold the general elections and manage the presidential elections next December.

He also stressed that the Libyan people are looking forward to reaching a political agreement so that the council can discuss granting confidence to the government, which should achieve the aspirations of the people and preserve their right to political participation under the umbrella of justice and equality.

He further pointed out that some MPs intervened to nominate several figures in the ministries, which put the prime minister in a complicated position. Dabaiba was accused of offering bribes to participants in the political dialogue conference, which was held in Tunis in November 2020, to vote for him, according to a report by UN experts. The report raised a state of confusion in the Libyan political scene, amid calls to postpone the session of granting confidence to the recent government until investigations are concluded.

Meanwhile, Libyan Prime Minister-designate, Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba, confirmed, in a recorded speech he addressed to members of the Libyan Parliament before the session of the Council, he would work to solve economic and health problems, stressing that the interest of Libya should prevail over private accounts.

Dabaiba appealed to the members of the Libyan House of Representatives not to waste the opportunity to unify the parliament and to give priority to the national interest, asserting the importance of enabling the government to carry out its complex tasks, and not delaying the confidence granting in order not to obstruct the electoral path recommended by the results of the Geneva Conference.

The prime minister-designate noted that the Libyan crisis represents "a conflict, a war and a crisis of confidence, and it requires realism and understanding," referring to the difficulties that his government will face due to the complex political scene in Libya, explaining the way to form a government "was not easy, because there are many obstacles," and noting that it required strenuous efforts to discover the best way out of the crisis.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) welcomed the holding of an official session of the House of Representatives in Sirte to deliberate on the vote on granting confidence to the ministerial list proposed by the Prime Minister-designate Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba. They expressed happiness with the participation of a large number of members of parliament in this session.

The UN mission commended Libyan Speaker Saleh, and the members of the House of Representatives for conducting a unified session after many years of division, stressing that this session represents a critical step towards the aspirations of the Libyan people.

The mission also commended the efforts of all concerned parties that made this meeting possible, especially the Joint Military Committee (5 + 5), the local authorities and prominent social actors in Sirte, the leadership of the Government of National Accord, the Libyan armed forces, and the recently chosen executive authority.

On 7 March, Libya’s Prime Minister-designate of the new Government of National Unity (GNU) handed over the recent formation of the new government to the Presidency of the Libyan Parliament.

The Media Office of the Libyan Unity Government said that Dabaiba had submitted the ministerial formation per the road map and the procedures specified in the political agreement before holding the confidence-granting session scheduled for in Sirte.