Libyan premier ousted
October 7, 2012
Libya's General National Congress (GNC) has rejected a ten-member "crisis cabinet" proposed by Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagur and then dismissed him. The Congress will now elect a new premier.
It was Abu Shagur's second proposal for a cabinet, just days after he was forced to withdraw his previous nominations in the face of protests.
The Congress then passed a no-confidence vote against the recently-elected prime minister, removing him from his post. Abu Shagur was Libya's first elected prime minister after last year's overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The 200-member GNC voted 125 to 44 in favor of removing Abu Shagur as prime minister. The session was shown live on state television.
Abu Shagur had been elected by the assembly on September 12 but struggled to form a government which was representative of the whole country.
Parliamentary spokesman Omar Humeidan said on Sunday that Abu Shagur has reached the end of the 25-day period in which he had to form a government.
Speaking to the congress, Abu Shagur admitted: "The first list was not successful, it had some mistakes, and I was prepared to fix it. Some political entities that demanded certain positions began to discuss a vote of no-confidence."
The assembly will now elect a new premier. Discussion on the procedure to follow was beginning late on Sunday.
jm/slk (Reuters, AFP, AP)