Libyan MPs protest central bank governor election delay

TRIPOLI, Libya

Thirty-seven members of Libya’s Tobruk-based parliament have suspended their membership in the assembly to protest a decision by the assembly’s second vice-president to postpone the election of a new central bank governor.

The election of a new central bank head had been initially slated for Tuesday, but was indefinitely postponed by Ahmida Huma, reportedly due to sharp differences between parliamentarians.

According to a joint statement issued late Tuesday by protesting MPs, the assembly decided two weeks ago to elect a new central bank governor, setting April 25 as the election date.

Citing a rapidly depreciating local currency and a resultant loss of purchasing power, MPs at the time had called for the election of a new central bank head, saying the country had “reached a situation that can no longer be tolerated”.

But Huma, the assembly’s second vice-president, later decided to postpone the poll even though 42 out of 74 MPs had voted in favor of holding it.

In their joint Tuesday statement, however, MPs warned that the move threatened “to aggravate Libya’s ongoing crisis by retaining the same officials who have thus far failed to provide solutions”.

Libya has remained in turmoil since a bloody uprising in 2011 -- backed by NATO air power -- led to the ouster and death of autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi after 42 years in power.

The North African country is now run by three separate governing bodies, while a host of competing militia groups continue to fight over oil-rich parts of the country.

Reporting by Jihad Nasr; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat