The Speaker of the House of Representatives (HoR) Aqila Saleh said that he had asked MPs not to rush to a decision to suspend Fathi Bashagha's government, adding that he didn't approve of this decision because it was hasty and against the law.
Saleh added in a TV statement that the HoR would not accept Dbeibah government’s supervision of elections, saying that Dbeibah must give up his Prime Minister job if he wanted to run for elections. He also indicated that elections must be held under a new, neutral government before the end of this year, and that the HoR would agree with the High Council of State on a mini-government to hold elections after adopting the electoral laws.
Saleh also stressed that the UN envoy to Libya didn't have the right to give legitimacy to the HoR or the High Council of State, adding that the HoR "doesn't want any foreign power in Libya, and that the dispute within the 6+6 committee is related to the candidacy of dual nationals for elections."
The HoR voted unanimously last Tuesday to suspend Bashagha and place him under investigation for failing to carry out his duties, including exercising his work from the capital, Tripoli. The decision assigned Bashagha's duties to the Minister of Finance in his government, who is close to Haftar, Osama Hammad.
Saleh was absent from the session that suspended Bashagha under the pretext of being outside the country, and his deputy, Fawzi Al-Nuwairi, chaired the HoR session.
Reliable sources confirmed that the HoR's suspension of Bashagha came by orders of Khalifa Haftar, adding that the latter was seeking to conclude a power-sharing deal with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah who would be making ministerial reshuffles that include bringing in close associates of Haftar in important sovereign ministries such as finance. In return, Haftar would abandon support for Bashagha and allow Dbeibah's government to operate in his areas of influence.
