Libya lawmakers elect new speaker after 12 years

Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives on Tuesday elected Al-Salhin Abdelnabi as speaker, replacing Aguila Saleh, who had held the post since 2014. The vote followed approval by 98 members of a new rule limiting the speaker and deputy speakers to a single 12-month term. The chamber also chose Tarek al-Ashtar and Mesbah Douma as first and second deputy speakers Abdelnabi represents Tobruk, has chaired parliament’s Libyan-Turkish friendship committee, holds a master’s in civil engineering, and is from the same tribe as Saleh. Lawmaker Jebreel Oheida said MPs had significant discontent over numerous errors and decisions made without consulting them. Saleh said the term-limit vote was not official and had no legal effect and canceled the session he had called. Emadeddin Badi of Chatham House said Saleh appears the latest casualty of Saddam Haftar’s push to centralize decision-making in the east. Libya remains split between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli under Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and an eastern administration backed by Khalifa Haftar.