Japanese-based parliament votes to interchange longtime speaker with Al-Salhin Abdelnabi al-Obeidi.
Printed On 7 Oct 2026
Libya’s eastern-based Home of Representatives has elected a brand new speaker, ending Aguila Saleh’s 12-year tenure amid rising discontent amongst lawmakers over his management.
Legislators within the 170-member Home voted on Tuesday to interchange Saleh with Al-Salhin Abdelnabi al-Obeidi, the parliament’s spokesperson introduced on X.
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The vote got here a day after 98 members of the Home accredited a brand new system limiting the speaker and deputy audio system to a single 12-month time period.
The change ended an association that had been in place for the reason that chamber’s first management was elected in 2014.
“There was vital discontent amongst MPs with the earlier management over quite a few errors,” lawmaker Jebree Oheida informed the Reuters information company. “We tried to have interaction with the management to deal with these points, however to no avail. Amongst these errors have been choices made with out consulting MPs.”
The vote was overseen by Second Deputy Speaker Misbah Douma, in response to the Libya Observer.
Saleh has beforehand rejected the proceedings, saying the preliminary vote to restrict the speaker’s time period was “not official and had no authorized impact”, in response to the outlet. He had additionally introduced that he had cancelled the session he had referred to as for Tuesday.
The developments come as Libya stays divided politically and militarily between the United Nations-recognised authorities in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration within the east backed by renegade navy commander Khalifa Haftar.
Haftar’s camp depends specifically on the parliament, which sits within the jap metropolis of Benghazi underneath their management.
Saleh has lengthy been thought of a staunch ally of the Haftar clan, however analysts stated he gave the impression to be weakened as Haftar’s sons, specifically Saddam Haftar, consolidated their positions.
“Agila Saleh seems to be the newest casualty of Saddam Haftar’s drive to centralise decision-making in jap Libya and bulldoze his method right into a political position,” stated Emadeddin Badi, an analyst on the London-based Chatham Home.
Al-Obeidi, who comes from the identical tribe as Saleh, represents the jap metropolis of Tobruk and has chaired parliament’s Libyan-Turkish friendship committee.
The Home on Tuesday additionally elected Tarek al-Ashtar and Mesbah Douma as first and second deputy audio system, respectively.
Their election follows the signing of a landmark agreement by representatives of Libya’s rival political camps in Tripoli in August that would see presidential and legislative elections held inside two years.
Mediated by the United Nations Help Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the “4+4 committee” settlement makes an attempt to resolve recurring authorized and institutional disputes which have crippled the nation for the reason that overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The US is pursuing a separate reunification plan for the oil and gas-rich North African nation, led by Massad Boulos, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs.
