After a decade of turmoil, Libya finally has a unified government

Libya finally has a unified government after a decade of chaos, war and political divisions. On Wednesday (10 March) the Libyan Parliament – the House of Representatives (HoR) – finally approved the proposed cabinet by prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. 

The parliament’s approval of Dbeibeh’s Cabinet came through a vote of 132 to 2. The step marks the biggest achievement so far in the Libyan peace process as the country reels from the damage of the past decade.

Dbeibah's term will end on 24 December when elections will be held. Aguila Saleh, Speaker of the Parliament, urged the prime minister to adhere to the roadmap and ensure that elections will be held on time.

“Through this vote, it became clear that the Libyans are one unit,” Dbeibeh said after the vote. He also promised to give his support to the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) to organise the 24 December elections on a constitutional basis and on the planned date.

Dbeibah appointed lawyer and human rights activist, Najla El Mangoush, as foreign minister. Five women were appointed among 31 ministerial posts, including the minister for justice.

Libya's two former governments expressed their willingness to hand over power and tasks to the new unified government.

Further work is still required to unify the central bank and other key institutions. The military part of the political agreement is also yet to be fully implemented. 

Source: commonspace.eu with various agencies.
Picture: Libya's prime minister alongside the speaker of the parliament pose for a picture after the vote. 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Armenian leader meets Putin in the Kremlin

Armenian leader meets Putin in the Kremlin

Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, met at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Wednesday 1, April, with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The current state and prospects of Russian-Armenian strategic partnership and alliance, integration cooperation in the Eurasian region, and current issues on the regional agenda, in particular the development of economic and transport-logistics ties in the South Caucasus, were discussed, according to the Kremlin website. In his remarks before the meeting, Prime Minister Pashinyan said our relations with the Russian Federation are very deep, they are very important to us, and, in my opinion, they are developing dynamically in the context of the new realities in our region, when peace has finally been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And I think this has a positive impact on our relations with the Russian Federation, because for the first time since our independence, we have a railway connection with the Russian Federation. We import goods from Russia via Azerbaijan by rail. I hope we will also export in the near future. This, of course, strengthens our traditional economic ties, and it strengthens our ties within the Eurasian Economic Union. Regarding the European Union, of course, we know that, in principle, membership in the two associations is incompatible. But what we're doing and the agenda we have, at least for now, are compatible. That's a fact. And as long as there's an opportunity to combine these agendas, we will. And when processes develop to the point where a decision must be made, I'm confident that we, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, will make that decision. Of course, in this context, our relations with the Russian Federation have never been and never will be in question, because, as I have already said, these ties and relations are very deep and not subject to discussion. (read the report in full by clicking the image at the top).

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)