Libya is plumbing new depths of chaos as its latest prime minister only lasted a few hours before his appointment was rejected by the acting General National Congress chairman, Ezzedine Al Amawi, who later declared the vote invalid. The shocking confusion in the congress was broadcast live on TV, leaving the Libyan people in no doubt about the mess that their leaders have created, including one episode when armed gunmen stormed the congress, shooting off their weapons and forcing the members to retreat for their own safety.
Ahmad Maitig thought he had secured the support of 121 deputies after several rounds of voting in the congress, but Al Awami announced that the vote had been too chaotic to be legal and asked Abdullah Al Thinni, who quit following a gun attack on his family, to continue as caretaker premier. Al Thinni himself had resigned after the attack, which was only one month after his election, when he replaced Ali Zeidan, who was voted out of office after rebels humiliated the government by shipping crude on to a tanker without the government’s permission, which was eventually intercepted by US forces and returned to Libya.
Far too much hope is being placed on the elections later this year for a new parliament that will replace the General National Congress and also appoint a new cabinet. The problem is that the supposedly stronger democratic mandate of the new parliament will not give the government enough force on the street to overcome the chaos in the country and send the militias back into civilian life.
Libya has been plagued by instability since armed groups toppled Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 and then settled down to become part of the political framework of the country, with different militias taking different areas of the country and establishing their control. The national government never created its own army, leaving it hostage to the whims of the warlords who are running large parts of the economy and refusing to accept the government’s right to interfere in their business.
