Libya

02 March 2022; MEMO: Libya's National Unity Government has reiterated its adherence to its mandate, accusing the eastern-based parliament in Tobruk of "fraud" by granting confidence to a new government led by Fathi Bashagha.

The unity government cited in a statement the outcomes of the political dialogue forum which had set the duration of the transitional executive authority at 18 months or until 24 June 2022.

BENGHAZI, Libya, March 1 (Reuters) - Libya's parliament approved a new government on Tuesday despite the incumbent administration vowing not to cede power, pushing a fragile peace process to the brink of collapse and raising the risk of new fighting or territorial partition.

Lawmakers' declaration of Fathi Bashagha as prime minister after a televised vote aggravates a power struggle with the interim administration of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who was installed through a U.N.-backed process last year.

26 Feb 2022; MEMO: Hundreds of Libyans have demonstrated in the capital of Tripoli on Friday calling for holding elections, ending the transitional phase in the country and overthrowing the House of Representatives and the High Council of State.

TRIPOLI, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Libya's parliament said on Thursday it will hold a session next week in which it is likely to vote on confirming a new interim government though the incumbent administration has vowed it will not hand over power.

A year after a unity government was installed in Tripoli and two months after a scheduled election was cancelled amid arguments over the rules, the dispute over how to move forward threatens to plunge Libya back into division.

17 Feb 2022; MEMO: Libya's Interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh has suggested carrying out an electronic referendum instead of mediation to exit the current political deadlock, Arabic media reported yesterday.

Dbeibeh suggested only one question: Do you support a new transitional period or new elections? The only available answers will be yes or no.

He said that there should be international monitors if such a proposal was adopted in order to give it more credibility.

TRIPOLI, Feb 15 (NNN-IRIN) – Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, yesterday met with his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammed Ishtaye, in the capital, Tripoli, and signed a number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs).

The MoUs are in the fields of employment, economic, commercial and technical cooperation, as well as, the establishment of a joint ministerial committee between the two countries, said a statement, issued by the Libyan Government’s Information Office.

11 Feb 2022; MEMO: Libya's renegade General Khalifa Haftar has welcomed the east-based parliament's decision to appoint Fathi Bashaga as the new prime minister.

TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya, Feb 8 (Reuters) - As Libya's political institutions pushed ahead with plans to again extend a transitional period and delay any elections, Libyans across the country were filled with weariness, cynicism and anger.

Libya was meant to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in December, but arguments between factions and bodies of state over how they should take place meant the process collapsed days before the vote.

07 Feb 2022; MEMO: Libya's eastern-based parliament said, on Monday, there would be no elections this year and it would choose a new interim prime minister on Thursday, potentially setting up a new factional struggle over control of government, Reuters reports.

The parliament, which has been working on a political roadmap since the collapse in December of a planned election process amid disputes over the vote's rules and constitutional basis, voted on Monday to adopt the plan.

TRIPOLI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Saturday called on competent authorities to impose preventive measures against COVID-19 in public areas amid surging cases nationwide.

The center also recommended launching nation-wide awareness campaigns against the virus, particularly in eastern and southern Libya.

It urged the authorities to provide more support to the isolation centers to increase their capacity, and called for launching mobile vaccination campaigns to vaccinate as many people as possible.