Libya’s Parliament-backed Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, accused his rival, Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba, of thwarting last December’s elections. Al-Dbaiba did this by running for elections. Bashagha added that Al-Dbaiba exceeded his pledge in Geneva and failed to abide by the laws of the House of Representatives (HoR).
During his speech at a forum that included dignitaries and representatives from the city of Misurata in Sirte on Saturday, Bashagha expressed his pride in the important step towards “our brothers with whom we were quarreling.”
He noted that the international community was “not satisfied with reconciliation with our brothers in the homeland and the intra-Libyan agreement.” He stressed the need to hold simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.
Bashagha confirmed that a group of armed battalions leaders met him in Tunisia during Ramadan, and they expressed their fear of the coup because the Minister of Defence is not one of them. He said that these fears are strange because the government will be run from Tripoli and no one can remove the military power from these battalions.
He noted that “contempt for law and order is contempt for the people, and when the government did what it did in the elections, we did not resort to the battalions.”
Notably, Fathi Bashagha, held a new round of “positive” talks with senior United States (US) officials in Washington on Friday.
Bashagha said that his administration is focusing on peaceful solutions. He added that his government works on building a trusted path forward for free and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya.
“I remain committed to serving the Libyan people, and ensuring Libya’s unity and security,” he concluded.