The United Nations expressed concern on Thursday after Libya's east-based parliament voted to install a government to replace the unity government, a move that threatens to bring violence between the two sides and return to the territorial division.
An emailed statement from the U.N. secretary general's spokesperson said there were reports that the vote did not meet the standards of transparency and procedure and that there were acts of intimidation before the session.
The U.N. is instead focused on renewing its push for elections, the spokesperson said, adding that U.N. Libya adviser Stephanie Williams will soon hold talks between the parliament and an opposing political body, the High Council of State.
The position of international powers will be key in the coming tussle for power between the incumbent administration of interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and the government newly installed under Fathi Bashagha.
Bashagha, a 59-year-old former fighter pilot trainer from Misrata near Tripoli, is backed by eastern-based putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, whose disastrous 2019-2020 attack on the capital ended in defeat and a return to U.N. peace efforts, following Turkey's support to the legitimate Tripoli government.
During Bashagha's stint as the interior minister in 2018-2021, he worked to reduce the influence of militias and bring fighters into state-run forces.
He is one of the few major Libyan politicians to have good relations with foreign powers backing rival sides in the country.
Dbeibah's government was put in place a year ago through a U.N.-backed peace process that was aimed at resolving Libya's political problems through an election last year, but the vote did not take place amid arguments over the rules.
The U.N.'s Libya adviser and Western powers have said they still recognize the Government of National Unity (GNU) and have urged Libya's competing factions and political institutions to prioritize early elections rather than a new transitional period.
