Libya unity gov’t ‘illegitimate’: Tobruk parliament

By Moataz al-Majbari

BENGHAZI, Libya (AA) – The speaker of an eastern Libya-based parliament has described the UN-backed unity government as “illegitimate”.

In a Monday statement, Aqila Saleh called on all sides to deal with the interim government in the eastern city of Tobruk “until a new government is formed and given confidence by parliament”.

“[The ministers] in the proposed unity government are illegitimate as they did not get the confidence of the [Tobruk-based] House of Deputies (parliament),” Saleh said.

He said the Tobruk-based interim government of Premier Abdullah al-Thani “is the legitimate government in Libya and will continue to play its role until the formation of a real national accord government”.

Libya has been roiled by chaos since the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi following a 2011 popular uprising.

Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli.

Late last year, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement establishing a government of national unity.

The unity government, however, remains beset by difficulties and has yet to assume its governing mandate across the troubled North African country.

Last month, the Tobruk-based parliament refused to give confidence to the UN-backed unity government.