Libya‘s parliament today named former interior minister Fati Basaga as Abdelhamid Dbeiba‘s replacement as head of government, in a controversial vote that is likely to intensify Libya‘s power struggles.

In recent weeks, Dbeiba, who is based in the capital Tripoli, has nevertheless made it known that he will not hand over power until a government has emerged from the polls, and has criticised the intentions of parliament.
“The parliament unanimously expresses its confidence in Fati Basaga as head of government,” parliament spokesman Abdullah Blihek said after a meeting of the body in Tobruk (eastern Libya).

Parliament had confirmed two of a total of seven nominations: those of Basaga, 59, and outsider Khaled Al-Bibas, 51, a former senior official in the same ministry.

Before the vote went ahead, parliament speaker Agila Saleh, one of the main opponents of the Dbeiba government, said that Bibas had withdrawn his candidacy, leaving only Basaga as a candidate.

The meeting was broadcast live and the transmission was interrupted at the moment of the vote. According to Libyan media, Bibas denied that he had withdrawn his candidacy.

Basaga and Dbeiba, both from western Libya, each have the support of armed groups in Tripolitania. The two politicians, who maintain a fierce rivalry, were also candidates in the presidential elections that were scheduled for December before being postponed indefinitely.

“I will not accept any new phase of transition or parallel power,” Dbeiba warned in a televised speech on Tuesday, stressing that his interim government would not hand over power except “to an elected government. ”

The Tobruk-based parliament considers that the government‘s term of office has expired with the postponement of the elections, but the government assures that its mission was to last until the appointment of a government resulting from the elections.