Libyan parliament sets conditions for head of next gov’t

 

The Libyan House of Representatives, or the parliament, announced on Tuesday the conditions it has set for serving as the country’s next prime minister.

The conditions for the premiership was approved in the presence of Speaker Aguila Saleh, his first and second deputies, and 120 deputies in the 200-seat parliament, said Abdullah Blehig, the parliament spokesman, in a statement published on his official Facebook account.

The next prime minister must not be a foreign citizen, must resign from their current public position, and must sign a pledge not to run for the upcoming elections, according to the statement.

Saleh previously said the current Government of National Unity had “expired” and demanded an investigation into the government on its spending and misuse of power.

In September last year, the House of Representatives withdrew confidence from the Government of National Unity and made it a caretaker government.

The Government of National Unity, headed by Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, was selected by the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in February 2021, ending years of political division in the North African country.

Libya should have held a presidential election on Dec. 24 last year. However, the election was postponed indefinitely over technical and legal issues, according to the High National Elections Commission.