On Sunday, Libya’s High Council of State (HCS) voted to replace its head, adding new uncertainty to a political standoff over control of government and the path to elections.
The Tripoli-based HCS has a say in major political matters under the terms of a 2015 political agreement and has been negotiating with Libya’s main parliament, the House of Representatives, which is based in the country’s east.
HCS members chose Mohammed Takala in a run-off by 67 votes to 62, ousting Khalid al-Mishri who had led the Tripoli-based body since 2018. Mishri congratulated Takala on his win.
The HCS and the HoR have been negotiating a path to elections under UN pressure, but they have both sought to replace the interim government in Tripoli before any national vote.
The introduction of a new leader at the helm of a key political institution could add more uncertainly to the country’s already deeply divided politics.
The international community and the United Nations have repeatedly said that nationwide elections are key to ending the country’s decade-long power vacuum. But for years, rival leaders have failed to agree to a set of election laws that would set the terms of that vote.
Libya has been torn by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country was then for years split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments.
It’s unclear what positions Takala, a politician from the city of Khoms and a member of the council since it was formed in 2016, will take on key political issues. But he was congratulated on his victory by Dbeibah. He previously chaired the council’s committee for the development of economic and social projects
