Libyan State Council calls for fresh gov't appointments

By Osama Ali

TRIPOLI (AA) – Libya’s Supreme State Council on Monday called for the appointment of new officials to top positions in the country’s UN-backed unity government.

In a letter sent to the council’s political dialogue committee, Mohamed Mazaib, the council’s second deputy president, called for holding "consultations" with a view to appointing new heads to high-level state institutions.

He said the council -- an advisory body established under last year’s UN-sponsored unity government deal -- had instructed its counter-terrorism and security committee to coordinate with Libya’s Tobruk-based parliament with a view to drafting a new law defining the powers of the Libyan army’s supreme commander and other leading military officials.

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.

The UN-backed deal also called on parliament and the Supreme State Council to nominate suitable candidates for top government posts, including the heads of the country’s central bank, auditing bureau, administrative control authority, anti-corruption authority and electoral commission.