The Maltese President, George Vella, called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces, mercenaries, fighters, and armed groups from Libya.
During his speech at the opening session of the Malta InterAction Council Meeting, Vella has underlined the recent developments in the Mediterranean region and the complex political and security situation in Libya.
He also called for a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process that allowed the people to choose their leaders and renew the legitimacy of their institutions.
On Tuesday, Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR) voted to suspend its designated prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, and appoint his Finance Minister, Osama Hammad, to his duties, the Parliament Spokesperson, Abdullah Blaiheg said.
In February 2022, the Libyan Parliament picked the former Interior Minister in February to lead a government to replace that of interim Premier Abdelhamid Dbaiba. This was part of a United Nations (UN)-backed peace process to end more than a decade of violence in the North African country.
Dbaiba failed in his key task of organising elections last December at which point the parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR) ruled that his mandate had run out.
But the Tripoli-based Prime Minister refused to hand over power before elections, preparing a showdown with Bashagha, named by the eastern-based legislature elected in 2014
Bashagha has previously confirmed that he will “remain in office until all Libyan parties agree on electoral laws that are internationally welcomed, and start announcing specific dates for the elections.
The transitional government had a mandate to lead the country to elections last December, but they never took place due to divisions over the rules and the presence of controversial candidates.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.