Libya’s Dbeibeh asks cabinet ministers to take their decisions with ‘courage’

Prime Minister of the Libyan National Unity Government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, yesterday called on his cabinet ministers to continue their duties, reiterating his refusal to hand over power except to a government elected by the people, Anadolu news agency reported.

Fear is mounting that the country will slide back into political division or civil war, after the eastern-based House of Representatives in Tobruk chose Fathi Bashaga as head of a new government, replacing the unity government headed by Dbeibeh.

Speaking at the opening of a cabinet meeting in the capital Tripoli, Dbeibeh called on his ministers not to pay attention to rumours and to take their decisions with “boldness and courage”.

On Thursday, Bashagha sent a letter to state institutions and the supervisory and judicial authorities in which he ordered them “not to take account of any decisions issued by the unity government” which he said had “expired”.

However, Dbeibeh accused the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State of “attempting to extend their mandate again, by imposing a new political reality, starting with closing the Constitutional Court, then trying to impose a parallel government despite the disagreement of all parties.”

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He stressed that his government’s road map “is still in place, and the unity government has, during this period, the full legitimacy emanating from the Geneva Accords, the political dialogue, the Paris Conference, the international community and the Security Council.”

He said he had submitted a “proposal to find a political solution to the escalating crisis, which requires holding parliamentary elections first at the end of June.”

“The presidential elections and the constitution will be approved after the election of a new parliament,” he said, welcoming “any step that accelerates the holding of parliamentary elections.”

He also welcomed the United Nations proposal to form a joint committee of the House of Representatives and the State to find a constitutional basis that paves the way for elections.