Current Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba has rejected Parliament’s move to appoint a replacement, and armed groups allied with al-Dabaiba may resist any attempt to install a Bashagha in Tripoli.
Earlier, the Libyan House of Representatives approved the new transitional government of Fathi Bashagha, as 92 out of 101 deputies approved it in a vote broadcast live from the city of Tobruk.
The new government includes 3 deputy prime ministers, 29 ministers and 6 state ministers, and there are only two women in the cabinet.
The appointment of Bashagha, the powerful former interior minister from the western city of Misurata, last month comes as part of a roadmap that also includes constitutional amendments and sets the election date within 14 months.
The move deepened divisions among Libyan factions and raised fears of a return to fighting after more than a year and a half of relative calm.
There was no immediate comment from Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, who was appointed through a UN-led operation in February 2021 on the condition that he sponsor the country until elections.
Dabaiba, who like Bashagha hails from Misrata, has taken a defiant stance in recent weeks against efforts to replace his government, and has repeatedly vowed that he will hand power only to an elected government, and says parliamentary elections will be held in June.
Efforts to replace Dabaiba stem from Libya’s failure to hold its first presidential elections during his tenure.
The presidential elections were originally scheduled for December 24, but were postponed due to disagreements between rival factions over the laws governing the elections and the presidential candidates, while lawmakers argued that the term of the Dabaiba government expired on December 24.