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Libya Lawmakers Withdraw Confidence in Unity Government

Libya Lawmakers Withdraw Confidence in Unity Government

Libyan lawmakers lodged a vote of no confidence in the unity government, potentially deepening a political rift in the OPEC nation just three months before elections meant to end a decade of conflict.

A total of 89 members of parliament voted in favor of the move out of 113 in attendance, the legislature said on its website. The implications weren’t immediately clear, with the assembly’s spokesman, Abdullah Beleiheq, telling the local al-Mursid news agency that the government could continue as a caretaker administration until the Dec. 24 presidential vote.

The move follows rising tensions between the government headed by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and the 188-member House of Representatives, institutions that are supposed to reunify the North African country after years of civil war that began with the 2011 overthrow of long-time ruler Moammar Qaddafi.

Lawmakers last week called in ministers for questioning on issues including the key oil sector, casting scrutiny on the interim government’s record in improving Libya in the months it’s been in office.

The spokesman for legislature’s advisory body, the Supreme Council of State, was quoted by Libya’s Al-Ahrar TV as saying it considers the parliament’s procedures for withdrawing confidence “invalid” and its ruling “null.”

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