One of Libya’s top governing bodies has elected a new leader in a development that could further fracture the deeply divided country.
The Tripoli-based High State Council (HSC) on Sunday chose Mohammed Takala in a run-off by 67 votes to 62, unseating its former head Khaled al-Mishri, who had led the HSC since 2018.
The introduction of a new leader at the helm of a key political institution could add more uncertainly to the country’s already divided politics.
The international community and the United Nations have repeatedly said that nationwide elections are key to ending the country’s decade-long power vacuum. But for years, rival leaders have failed to agree to a set of election laws that would set the terms of that vote.
Libya has been torn by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country was then for years split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments.
The HSC holds significant influence in political matters under a 2015 agreement and has been negotiating a path to elections with Libya’s main parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), which is based in the country’s eastern city of Tobruk.
Original from www.aljazeera.com