On Tuesday, Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba stated that he would not accept more transitional stages in Libya. He vowed that his government will continue to fulfil its duties, until handing over power to an elected government.
In a televised speech, Dbaiba said that he will withdraw from the Presidential race if other candidates withdraw too. “Only elections will end the transitional stages,” he claimed.
Dbaiba added that he would defy a planned vote in Parliament to replace him on Thursday, raising the prospect of two rival governments running in parallel. “We will not retreat from our role in government, until elections are achieved,” he said.
The PM pointed out that he had begun consultations, to begin a new election process in June.
At stake is a UN-backed peace process including a ceasefire that has held since October 2020. Rival armed forces have reportedly been mobilizing in Tripoli over recent weeks.
The Parliament, which was elected in 2014, has declared the GNU invalid, and on Monday adopted a new political roadmap. This includes selecting a new interim government, before holding elections next year.
Libya has had little peace or stability since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising against long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. Warring camps in the east and west, each with their own government effectively split the country in 2014.
Dbaiba was selected as Prime Minister through a UN-backed peace process. This was on the understanding that his government would oversee the run-up to Presidential and Parliamentary elections in December.
However, he reneged on a pledge he had made to not run in these elections. The PM’s candidacy was one of the main issues that eventually brought the process to collapse.