Too many Libyan powerbrokers prefer the broken status quo to elections

The announcement, which Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both denied clearing, created a regional diplomatic fracas. It led to public protests in Libya, inter-agency finger-pointing in Israel, and Ms Mangoush’s dismissal and exit from Libya on a private plane. The mixing of elected and unelected bodies, with officials appointed by foreign bodies, effectively severed the thread of political legitimacy accorded by the early elections. Libya’s political scene became a Frankenstein of inconsistent external mandates and local militia rule. The sad reality is that today, despite the continued suffering of Libyans, many of the country’s powerbrokers much prefer to tolerate a broken status quo, rather than submit to national elections.