Habib Lassoued
A file picture shows Fathi Bashagha, former Interior Minister, delivering a speech after submitting his candidacy papers for the presidential election in Tripoli, Libya, November 18, 2021. (Reuters)
A year ago, the Government of National Unity (GNU) won the backing of the House of Representatives at an extraordinary session held in the city of Sirte, after Abdulhamid Dbeibah pledged not to run for elections. He also vowed to appoint a defence minister as soon as possible. But he eventually reneged on both pledges and became, instead, a major source of political strife and division. He aimed his hostile rhetoric against the parliament and the army leadership hoping to win the favour of militias and extremist groups.
Dbeibah came to power under a cloud of suspicion, starting with events surrounding the Tunis Forum for Political Dialogue and ending with the Geneva meetings. His election took place in a context of wheeling and dealing with several parties. Today, a year after he took over the reins of power from the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, he has not allayed those suspicions. He is ready to do everything possible to continue exercising power as a would-be dictator who wields an iron hand in a kid glove. He is acting more like an enterprising businessman than a political leader who knows his limits and understands how to deal with political realities.
One has to admit that Dbeibah has surrounded himself with a team of PR professionals who have mastered the discourse of Western political elites and tells them what they want to hear.
Dbeibah talks about democracy, popular will and the principles of the February 17 revolution as he insists on organising elections in June in order to return the mandate to the people and hand over power to an elected government. Or so he claims. He again pledges not to run in the elections. But everyone expects him to back down from that pledge. He will eventually say that he was just stating an inconsequential moral position, the same way he has previously justified reneging on his vow not to run in the December 24 ballot.
When the House of Representatives designated Fathi Bashagha to form a new government, in which it later passed a vote of confidence, it was recognising the stature of the man in the western part of the country, his major influence in Misrata and his ability to set Libya on a course of peace and national reconciliation, especially after he went to Benghazi and met Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Meanwhile, US diplomat, Stephanie Williams, has worked to hinder the decisions of the House of Representatives as she tried to obstruct Bashagha’s steps while backing Dbeibah’s ambitions of staying in power until elections are presumably held next June, although most likely they will not take place.
She put forward her proposal to build a consensus between the House of Representatives and the State Council. This means that the veteran diplomat, who had returned last December to exercise her guardianship over the political scene in the country as a political advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, does not want the Libyan crisis to be resolved, the electoral process to be set up, nor national reconciliation to be achieved. And when the US embassy supports her in all the moves and positions she takes, this means we are facing a plan to perpetuate the Libyan conflict in a manner that serves the interests of those who somehow benefit from it.
How can the elections be held on time when Dbeibah, who is supposed to be the head of the GNU, is at odds with the parliament and the army command?
During the past few weeks, he has abandoned any semblance of conciliatory intent and has instead worn the mantle of warlord or militia leader. All he has in mind is his campaigns against Haftar, Aguila Saleh and the pre-2011 regime, to which he was incidentally no stranger. His desire is to gain favour with armed groups and extremist formations.
Last December, Dbeibah’s attitude was one of the main reasons why the elections did not take place, as he wanted to impose himself as a candidate without any serious competitors. He spared no effort to control the electoral process by laying his hand on the electoral commission, the judiciary and the media. He tried to exploit the state’s resources to promote his personal bid and distribute promises all around. He tried to entice all parties, classes and ethnic, social and cultural groups. And when Saif al-Islam Gadhafi came to fore, the GNU worked to block his way and exclude him from the race. Dbeibah wants no serious contender to challenge him. People close to him know that he contacted his US and European allies to tell them the solution is to postpone the elections so that Russia does not win the presidency of Libya through the victory of its candidate.
Libya watchers do not believe the presidential or parliamentary elections will be held; and if they are to take place, they will not succeed unless certain conditions are met first. These include achieving national reconciliation and the unification of the security and military institutions and making sure the government is able to extend its control all over the country so that candidates can move around in all regions to publicise their programmes.
All political players must also pledge in advance to accept the results of the ballot, whatever that may be. With anything less than this, it is just a futile exercise and a waste of time. This will only allow those in power to continue playing the game of corruption, extortion and the waste of public money.
Attempts to impose the survival of the outgoing government, represent a conspiracy against Libya and Libyans by those who stand to gain from the absence of a final political settlement. These are those who would like to postpone the moment of comprehensive reconciliation and the restoration of the state’s sovereignty over its resources, especially those who are still the subject of competition between foreign powers who covet such riches as oil, gas, frozen funds, reconstruction contracts.
The attempts are underway to prevent Bashagha from taking the reins of power clearly indicate that there are certain protagonists, especially Western external forces, which do not want Libya to be ruled by a strong leader. They do not want anyone who is able to take the necessary decisions to unite Libyans within an integrated national plan that shields the country from external interventions, from whatever direction.
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