Negotiators from both Libyan parliaments have signed a unity government deal today in Morocco, and are preparing to set up a joint “presidential council” to form a new government which will be endorsed by the UN Security Council and based in Tripoli.
That’s the theory, at least. Though the negotiators on both sides agreed to the terms of the pact, a number of MPs on each side slammed the deal, and some have armed factions prepared to back them against the deal, meaning this could set up another round of fighting over the capital city.
The plan calls for the united presidential council, and would name the Tobruk Parliament as the official legislature of Libya, while relegating the Tripoli Parliament to a position of a “consultative” body. Ultimately, neither parliament has been able to exert much influence, and it’s not clear if the combination will be any more successful.
History isn’t on their side, as the two parliaments were basically combined before the election split and the fight over Tripoli, and at the time they had control over very little outside of the capital city. As it stands, much of central Libya remains in ISIS hands, and major cities across the country are under the control of various local militias as well.
Ah, so the city councils of Tripoli and Tobruk have decided to merge, and the MSM trumpets this as a "unity government" for all Libya? Voila! No longer a failed state!