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Libyan PM will not step down: cabinet source | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Libya’s Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thani takes part in a joint news conference with Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (not pictured) at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta on October 21, 2014. (Reuters/Darrin Zammit)


Libya's Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani takes part in a joint news conference with Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (not pictured) at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta, Malta, on October 21, 2014. (Reuters/Darrin Zammit)

Libya’s Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani takes part in a joint news conference with Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (not pictured) at the Auberge de Castille in Valletta, Malta, on October 21, 2014. (Reuters/Darrin Zammit)

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thani has struck a deal with parliamentary rivals to remain in office, a senior government source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday, following speculation that Thani was considering resigning.

“[Thani’s] term as prime minister will be extended and he will remain in office,” the source, a member of Thani’s cabinet, said.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the press, the minister confirmed that the interim prime minister had managed to reach a settlement with a number of influential political figures in the Tobruk-based parliament to remain in power, including former prime minister Mahmoud Jibril of the National Forces Alliance.

The minister said the agreement to extend Thani’s term in office came following “a lack of consensus on an alternative [candidate] from within the parliament.”

Reports last week surfaced that Thani was considering stepping down as interim prime minister amid intense pressure to leave office from political opponents within parliament.

Sources attributed the recent political unrest within the Tobruk-based government—the only one of Libya’s two rival parliaments recognized internationally—to a dispute between Thani and Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

Libya’s parliament has offered its backing to the military campaign launched by Haftar’s forces—the Libyan National Army—against Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi, with Haftar subsequently expanding his operations to confront the forces of the rival Islamist-backed government in Tripoli.

Thani’s government took refuge in eastern Libya after Islamist-backed militias attacked the capital, forming their own government and parliament in August last year.

“The main problem, which may oust him from the government he has led since last year, is [Thani’s] lack of cooperation and harmony with the leaders of the Libyan National Army,” the minister said. A meeting on Wednesday between Thani and Haftar’s political advisers ended badly, the minister added, exacerbating the tense political situation in Tobruk.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The reason is that Thani is inflexible in dealing [with Haftar] and tends to interpret the demands of the leadership [of the Libyan National Army] as interference and conditions [on the government].”

The minister also accused Thani of running the government based on a “coercive mentality rather than one of political partnership.” However, no credible figure has emerged from within parliament to challenge Thani’s administration, and preparations for a direct meeting between Thani and Haftar to clear the air are underway, according to the minister.

Political maneuvering within the Tobruk-based government is not limited to the Thani and Haftar camps, with former Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan also seeking to return to power, the minister said, but he added that Haftar remained opposed to Zeidan.