|
|
Libya’s Fledgling Government Shuts Out Pro-Western Liberals CNSNews.com One day after Libya’s top lawmaker appeared to back down -- under criticism from fundamentalists -- over the need for a secular state, the country’s prime minister-elect on Wednesday submitted a cabinet that does not include a single member of the country’s pro-Western liberal coalition. Also on Wednesday, Libya’s central bank governor confirmed plans to push for a shari’a-compliant banking system. Reuters quoted Saddek Elkaber as saying on the sidelines of a banking meeting in Kuwait that demand for the changes was so high he hoped the new rules would be in place by the end of this year. Together, the developments add new concerns to those voiced over the months since the overthrow of the Gadaffi dictatorship about the future direction the North African country may take -- concerns dramatically underscored by the deadly September 11 assault on the US consulate in Benghazi. The proposed cabinet could still change as lawmakers consider each nomination on Thursday, but the 28 names put forward by Prime Minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur thus far exclude any from the National Forces Alliance (NFA), a liberal coalition headed by former interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril. There is also only one woman among the nominees: Summaya Mahmoud Baltief is proposed as social affairs minister. The proposed ministers include several from the Muslim Brotherhood, which operates in Libya under the name Justice and Construction Party (sometimes translated as Justice and Development Party). The NFA was by far the most popular party in legislative elections last July, winning 48 percent of the vote and taking 39 seats in the General National Congress (GNC), Libya’s parliament. In second place was the Muslim Brotherhood party, taking 10,3 percent of the vote and 17 GNC seats. Abushagur, the prime minister-elect, is an independent who was elected by the GNC on September 12, the day after American ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Benghazi attack. Why his proposed cabinet includes no NFA members was not immediately clear. The English-language Tripoli Post reported earlier this week that a meeting Monday between Abushagur and Jibril ended with an agreement that the NFA would get three portfolios, including possibly the coveted post of foreign minister. The list submitted to the GNC Wednesday did not include a foreign minister, and the independent online Libya Herald reported that the post would be held by Abushagur for the meantime. READ FULL SOURCE ARTICLE The BasicsProject.org informational and educational pamphlet series is now available for Kindle and iPad. Click here to find out more... The New Media Journal and BasicsProject.org are not funded by outside sources. We exist exclusively on tax deductible donations from our readers and contributors. Please make a tax deductible donation today. The BasicsProject.org informational and educational pamphlet series is now available for Kindle and iPad. Click here to find out more... The New Media Journal and BasicsProject.org are not funded by outside sources. We exist exclusively on tax deductible donations from our readers and contributors. Please make a tax deductible donation today.
|