The Libyan parliament was meeting on Thursday for a session on the formation of the new government.
It was an eventful morning for the Libyan High State Council which session on the formation of the new government by Fathi Bachagha was interrupted by a power cut followed by gunfire. A situation that caused the adjournment of the session according to the chairman Khaled al-Mishri.
“There was a shooting, but thank God we had taken all measures before going out, to secure the exit of the members through the back door of the Islamic Society building, and they all came out safely,” al-Mishri said.
The incident comes after the decision of the incumbent Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, to hold parliamentary elections by next summer by postponing the presidential election to a later date.
Khaled al-Mishri, President of the High Council of State (Upper House) and a heavyweight of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Aguila Saleh, President of the House of Representatives (Lower House) are leading an anti-Dbeibah front.
The two political figures are campaigning for the departure of the incumbent Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Dbeibah, after the failure to hold the presidential and legislative elections on 24 December 2021.
The Libyan Parliament enthroned on 10 February Fathi Bachagha as the new Prime Minister to replace Dbeibah whose “mandate has expired,” according to Aguila Saleh.
But Dbeibah, who is still recognised by the United Nations and supported by Turkey, has indicated that he “will not accept any new transitional phase or parallel authority,” adding that “his government will remain in office until elections are held and that it will only hand over to an elected government.”
CD/te/lb/abj/APA