On 21 September 2021, the House of Representatives (HoR), which rules eastern Libya, passed a no-confidence motion against the
Government of National Unity.[2]
Creation
On 10 February 2022, the House of Representatives selected
Fathi Bashagha as Prime Minister-designate, after HoR Speaker
Aguila Saleh Issa announced the only other candidate, Khalid Al-Baybas, withdrew his candidacy.[3] However, Al-Baybas denied withdrawing from the race.[4] Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh rejected Bashagha's appointment as Prime Minister, stating that he will only hand over power after a national election.[3]LNA leader
Khalifa Haftar welcomed Bashagha's appointment.[5]
On 1 March, the House of Representatives voted to give confidence to Bashagha's Government of National Stability.[6][7] According to HoR Speaker Saleh, 92 out of 101 attending members voted for the new government.[6] The
High Council of State rejected "unilateral" steps by the HoR and regards the HoR decision to grant confidence to a new government a violation of the Libyan Political Agreement.[8] The Government of National Unity refused to transfer powers to the Bashagha government.[9] The
United Nations has voiced concerns over the vote due to reports on lack of transparency and procedure, and acts of intimidation prior to the HoR session.[10]
Bashagha and his cabinet were sworn in at the House of Representatives headquarters in
Tobruk on 3 March.[11][12]
Since mid-2022
In mid-2022, the two governments functioned in parallel, holding
dual power.[13]
There were
clashes between supporters of the two governments starting in May 2022,[14] which escalated on 27 August 2022.[15]
In May 2023 Bashagha was temporarily replaced by
Osama Hamada, citing poor performance.