Libya’s assembly elects Mustafa A.G. Abushagur as new PM

Libya’s newly-elected General National Congress has elected Mustafa A.G. Abushagur as the country’s next prime minister.

Abushagur, the North African country’s current deputy prime minister, narrowly beat Mahmoud Jibril in a second-round runoff held by the 200-seat national assembly on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Abushagur secured 96 votes against his competitor who picked up 94 votes.

Libyans elected the legislative body on July 7. The assembly is tasked with appointing a new interim government, which will rule until new parliamentary elections after the drafting of a new constitution.

The country’s first peaceful transition of power in more than four decades took place in an official ceremony in the capital Tripoli on August 8, when the Libya’s National Transitional Council handed over power to the legislative assembly almost a year after the revolution that toppled long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyans rose up against Gaddafi in February 2011 and deposed him in August 2011. He ruled for more than four decades without a legislature.