Libyan Prime Minister sacked for missing deadline to form a cabinet

Removed ... Mustafa Abushagur. Photo: Reuters

TRIPOLI: Libya's Parliament has passed a no-confidence vote in the new Prime Minister, removing him from his post in the latest blow to stability in the war-ravaged country.

Mustafa Abushagur was Libya's first elected Prime Minister after last year's overthrow of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi that ended eight months of civil war.

He had 25 days from his appointment to form a cabinet approved by Parliament, but that deadline expired on Sunday as legislators moved to unseat him.

The General National Congress voted 125 to 44 in favour of removing him as prime minister, with 19 abstaining.

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Until a replacement can be nominated, management of Libya's government is in the hands of the legislature.

Mr Abushagur represented an offshoot of the country's oldest anti-Gaddafi opposition movement and was considered a compromise candidate acceptable to both liberals and Islamists.

But he failed to produce a list of ministers that could win the approval of enough MPs.

After 40 years of Gaddafi's divide-and-rule tactics and the 2011 war, Libya's towns, tribes and regions are highly polarised. Many feel entitled to high government positions because of their losses in the war against Gaddafi and are wary of any power wielded by their rivals.

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Libyan Prime Minister sacked for missing deadline to form a cabinet