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Libya: Prime Minister Ali Zeidan removed from office after no-confidence vote
(Reuters) – Libya’s parliament voted Prime Minister Ali Zeidan out of office on Tuesday after secessionist rebels humiliated the government by loading crude on a tanker that fled from naval forces, officials said.
Libyan gunboats later chased the tanker along Libya’s eastern Mediterranean coast and opened fire, damaging it, a military spokesman said.
It is feared that the vast North African state could even break apart with the government struggling to rein in armed militias and tribesmen who helped oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but want to grab power and oil revenues.
Zeidan, a liberal weakened for months by infighting with Islamists and secessionists, will be temporarily replaced by Defence Minister Abdallah al-Thinni, who was sworn in by parliament on Tuesday evening.
Zeidan, who came to power in 2012 after Libya’s first free parliamentary vote following 4 decades of quirky one-man rule by Gaddafi, had been facing opposition from Islamists and the public blaming him for Libya’s anarchic transition since 2011.
Deputies said they had decided to mount a no-confidence vote after the North Korean tanker managed to sail away from Es Sider port, one of 3 major export terminals the government has lost to rebels.
“The government has been weakened for a time and we need a new personality,” said al-Sharif al-Wafi, an independent lawmaker. A new prime minister will be elected by deputies within 2 weeks, he said.
Zeidan told reporters late on Monday in an interview that navy forces had halted the tanker and were escorting it to a government-controlled port in western Libya.
Zeidan’s exit gave joy to his many opponents but it complicates Libya’s transition as there is no obvious successor who can unite the feuding parties in a country with no tradition of political institutions.
Analysts said Zeidan was not to blame for many problems such as lack of development since the ousting of Gaddafi as the government was simply running out of money due to a wave of protests at oilfields and ports. Oil is Libya’s lifeline.
Libya has been trying to rebuild its armed forces since Gaddafi’s overthrow, but analysts say they are not yet a match for battle-hardened militias that fought in the 8-month uprising against the veteran strongman.
Source: Reuters