Libya Parliament Ousts PM It Chose as Challenger to Tripoli Rule

Tarek El-Tablawy
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Libya’s parliament voted to remove the prime minister who heads the divided nation’s eastern government, injecting a fresh dose of intrigue and uncertainty into the OPEC member’s chaotic political scene.

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A majority of lawmakers based in the country’s east approved removing Fathi Bashagha from office and referring him for investigation, parliament spokesman Abdulla Belheiq said Tuesday in a text message. Finance Minister Osama Hamad has been appointed as replacement, he said.

Belheiq didn’t elaborate on the reasons for Bashagha’s removal or what prompted the decision to refer him for investigation.

Bashagha’s ousting sidelines one of the North African nation’s most influential politicians. A former interior minister, he was picked by parliament over a year ago as a rival to Tripoli-based premier Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, as a United Nations-brokered deal to end Libya’s most recent conflict with a power-sharing government and elections faltered.

Read also: Why Libya Lurches from One Crisis to The Next: QuickTake

Home to Africa’s largest oil reserves, Libya has lurched from one crisis to the next since the 2011 civil war and overthrow of long-time strongman Moammar Al Qaddafi. Crude production is a frequent hostage to the cycle of violence, although output has stabilized this year at more than 1.1 million barrels per day.

After Bashagha’s attempts to march on the capital, Tripoli, and assert his claim to the national premiership failed, he set up a rival government in the central coastal city of Sirte that proved largely ineffectual.

Parliament’s step removes a sometime-ally of eastern-based military chief Khalifa Haftar, who fought a 2019-2020 campaign to seize the capital from a previous government and tried to run for president in 2021.

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