Libya's parliament approves Islamist-backed government
TRIPOLI, Libya Libya's embattled parliament approved Sunday an Islamist-backed government despite boycotts from non-Islamists and threats from a renegade general who considers the chamber illegitimate.
Lawmakers said the government of Ahmed Maiteg passed with a majority vote, with 83 out of 93 present in the session voting in favor.
The parliament session was held amid tight security in a palace east of the capital after the renegade general's forces said that the legitimacy of the parliament has expired. A spokesman for Gen. Khalifa Hifter had threatened Saturday to attack the parliament session if it convened.
Hifter has launched an armed campaign he said is aimed at imposing stability after three years of chaos since the ouster and death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. He said he wants to break the power of Islamists who lead the parliament, whom he accuses opening the door to Islamic radicals.
It has been the biggest challenge yet to the country's weak central government and fledgling security forces. The vote Sunday is unlikely to break the standoff between the renegade general's forces and the Islamists and allied militia who called his moves a "coup."
Hifter's campaign, while plunging Libya deeper into uncertainty, has also been winning support from several prominent government officials, diplomats, and military units who have sided with him against the Islamists both among the militias and in parliament. Thousands of residents went out in support of his campaign on Friday in different Libyan cities.
Last week, militia allied with Hifter stormed and ransacked the parliament building in Tripoli, declaring the body suspended. Two days later, some lawmakers tried to hold a session at an alternative location to vote on a new prime minister, but came under rocket fire, effectively ending the session.
Despite the attack, the parliament convened days later but failed to win approval for Maiteg's government because of an insufficient quorum.
"Today we waited until we had quorum and the majority voted for Maiteg's government," said lawmaker Mohammed Margham, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in parliament.
Margham said those who boycotted the session wanted to "obstruct the democratic process." He also called Hifter's threat to the parliament "a criminal act."
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Libya's parliament approves Islamist-backed government