Libya parliament rejects UN-backed unity government

PanARMENIAN.Net - Libya's internationally backed parliament voted "no confidence" in a UN-backed government on Monday, August 22, its spokesman said, in a major blow to international efforts to bring unity to the deeply divided North African country, the Associated Press reports.

Abdullah Ablahig said 61 lawmakers voted against the government, 39 abstained and one voted to support it, with enough members — 101 — to reach quorum.

It's unclear what happens next. Some lawmakers said the vote would automatically dissolve the government set up under the UN deal, while others dispute this.

Lawmaker Abdel-Salam Nassiya said the Cabinet would now have to be changed to include more representation from Libya's east, where the parliament is seated. The U.N.-backed government, formed after rival factions signed a peace deal last year, is based in Tripoli, the country's capital, in the west.

Libya has been mired in conflict since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country is been split between rival parliaments and governments, based in Tripoli and the country's far east, each backed by an array of militias and tribes.

In December, the United Nations struck a deal with the rival factions to create a unity government led by Fayez Serraj, who had been awaiting a crucial vote of confidence from the Tobruk-based parliament.