Dabaiba submits proposal to Libyan parliament to form unity government

Mustafa Kamel

Political leaders in Libya are currently intensifying their efforts to give confidence to the new Libyan government to enable it to restore stability to the country. The new Libyan prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, presented the Libyan parliament with a proposal for a national unity government and called on the parliament to approve it, emphasizing the fair distribution of ministerial portfolios in implementation of the calls demanding the necessity of representing all three Libyan regions (East, West, and South) to achieve political balance in Libya. The parliament is preparing to hold a session on Monday, March 8, 2021 to give confidence to the new prime minister’s government.

Proposed new government

At a time when political leaders are engaged in a strenuous travail to give confidence to the new government so that it to exercise its duties in restoring stability to the war-torn country, Dabaiba presented a proposal for a government of national unity and called on the parliament to approve it. He said during a press conference in Tripoli that he took into account the fair distribution of ministerial portfolios between the west, east and south of the country, confirming that he had sent a vision about the form of the government to the Presidency of the House of Representatives.

Regarding the proposal to form a national unity government, Dabaiba affirmed that he handed over the proposed criteria and draft government formation to House Speaker Aguila Saleh on Thursday morning, February 25, stressing that he took into account all the difficult circumstances that the country has recently emerged from, including wars and divisions in government. He pointed out that members of the House of Representatives who met with him promised to grant confidence to his government and are ready to go to any city chosen by the House of Representatives to hold a session of granting confidence to the new government.

Representing Libya’s regions

With regard to the representation of the three Libyan regions, Dabaiba stressed that he took several considerations into account in forming the government, including the suffering experienced by the Libyan people due to the wars, conflicts and disagreements that destroyed the country. He stressed his reliance on consultations with the Political Dialogue Forum, the House of Representatives, the High Council of State, and many sectors and entities.

Dabaiba revealed that 3,000 candidates had applied to fill ministerial positions according to electoral districts divided by 13 constituencies, and he had seen the files of 2,300 of them. He explained that the assignment of the sovereign positions took into account the equitable distribution between the eastern, western and southern regions.

The new prime minister said that there are many challenges facing the Libyan people, the first of which is the corona pandemic, noting that a crisis team will be formed to confront it. There is also the reconciliation file, and Dabaiba said his government will cooperate with the Presidential Council, pointing out that there is great harmony with the members of the Presidency Council and that they shared their perceptions on the formation of the government.

Parliament session to grant confidence

The Libyan House of Representatives set Monday, March 8 as the date to hold a session in the city of Sirte to vote on granting the national unity government confidence, and if this is not possible, the venue for the session will be transferred to take place at the temporary headquarters of the House of Representatives in Tobruk on the same day.

House Speaker Aguila Saleh called for the need for fair representation of the three historical regions of Libya in forming the prospective government. During his meeting with German Ambassador to Libya Oliver Owcza, he discussed political developments in Libya, stressing the need to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on time without delay and the need to form the prospective government based on the principle of equitable distribution between the three regions.

Saleh denied the existence of any prior opposition to the next government, stressing that a quorum will be available in the session to grant confidence to the government. He pointed out that there are differences, but everyone must participate in power to get out of this tunnel, adding that there is no open opposition with the intention of obstructing.

Dabaiba had hinted at resorting to members of the Political Dialogue Forum to obtain confidence in the event that the parliament does not agree and continues to divide over granting confidence to the government, as he said on Twitter, “We have two options in the process of choosing the formation of the government, and the lack of consensus among the representatives pushes us to adopt the second option.”