Libya: Interim government officially begins tenure after smooth handover

A transitional government in Libya on March 16 took power in capital Tripoli, officially beginning a tenure designed to and with democratic elections late this year. According to AP, Fayez Sarraj, who is he of outgoing UN-supported ministration, transferred power to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and Mohamm Younes Menfi, who chairs a three-member Presidential Council. ceremony in capital city came after Dbeibah and his cabinet were sworn in before lawmakers and Libya’s top judges in eastern town of Tobruk. 

smooth transfer of power in Libya is now seen as an important step to end chaos in North African country. Back in 2014, lack of a proper handover among legislators was a major factor in split of Libya’s institutions. However, after Tuesday’s ceremony, Claudia Gazzini, a Libya expert at International Crisis Group, called day “historic” for Libya. But she also ded that interim government would face huge challenges, mainly avoiding political impasse or a relapse of war. 

Libyan crisis 

It is worth noting that prior to Tripoli ceremony, lawmakers h alrey endorsed interim government last week amid International pressure to implement an UN-brokered political romap. According to AP, romap, agreed to by an UN-picked Libyan political forum last year, has set December 24 for general elections in oil-rich country. 

Libya has plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Moammar Ghafi, who was later killed. country, since n, fell into hands of competing rival militias, and politicians that divided self-defined government in Tripoli and Libyan east. North African nation also turned a hoisting ground for rical Islamic rebel groups and terrorist organizations like Daesh and Al Qaida, with conflict intensifying due to influx of arms. 

(Image: AP)