The Libyan Prime Minister-designate of the House of Representatives (HoR), Fathi Bashagha, accused the Prime Minister of the outgoing Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba , of deliberately sabotaging the country’s general elections.
During interview with Al-Wasat TV Bashagha said that Al-Dbaiba did not intend to hold elections from the beginning. “He informed foreign and local parties that he would last for two years or more, and there would be no elections,” Bashagha added.
“Since 2011, successive Libyan governments handed over power smoothly, and even the Salvation Government responded after a short period, but the Al-Dabaiba government did not,” he noted.
“This is a moral problem before it was a political one,” Bashagha said.
Regarding the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the Prime Minister-designate said that he is “in full coordination with it” and he continues to support the High National Election Commission (HNEC).
He also indicated that he had made pledges before the HoR to facilitate the elections.
Bashagha stressed that “there is no way out of the current crisis in Libya other than consensus, through the mechanisms stipulated by the political dialogue.”
On Wednesday, Bashagha warned of the collapse of the ceasefire agreement if the outgoing GNU continues to refuse to hand over power to his government.
“The outgoing government’s continued usurpation of power and the threat of violence threatens to unravel the ceasefire agreement, and undermine national and international efforts to hold elections,” Bashagha said in a statement on Wednesday.
Libya’s Prime Minister added that ensuring that elections are held on a constitutional, fair, and transparent basis requires the concerted efforts of all local and international players. This is to stop any possible political and military escalation in the country.
On the 10th of February, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Ageela Saleh, announced that they unanimously appointed Bashagha as the new Prime Minister.
However, Al-Dbaiba warned that the appointment of a new interim government could lead to war and chaos in the country. He renewed his pledge to only hand power over to an elected government.