CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s east-based parliament on Thursday appointed a new prime minister, a development that counters U.N. efforts to reconcile the divided country and will likely produce two parallel administrations. The House of Representatives said its decision followed the incumbent premier’s failure to hold national elections in December, something that was agreed to under a U.N.-mediated peace process. In an television interview late Thursday, Dbeibah maintained that his government would not leave power without first overseeing national elections. At the United Nations, reporters pressed spokesman Stephane Dujarric, about the appointment and which Libyan prime minister the U.N. recognizes. Dbeibah, a powerful businessman from Misrata, was appointed prime minister in February last year as part of the U.N.-brokered, Western-backed political process.

Source: Libya Today February 11, 2022 01:32 UTC