TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) decided on Sunday to keep the interim government in
power in the run up to a June election, its leader said, quashing rumours of a reshuffle that has sowed uncertainty in the
strife-torn state.
stay put until elections
The NTC is the unelected body internationally recognised as the ultimate
power in the country after the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi last year.
The council set up an interim
government in November to take care of the day-to-day running of services – but both organisations have faced regular
criticism for its failure to impose its authority on a country still awash with weapons.
“Most (NTC) members decided
to keep the government as it is now,” one NTC source present at the closed Sunday meeting told Reuters. “They thought it was
better than make changes two months before the elections.”
Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil confirmed the
government would stay on.
“The government and NTC should cooperate together for the elections to succeed,” he told a
news conference. “Time is short for changing things (which) could affect the elections.”
An NTC spokesman earlier this
month said the council was reviewing the work of some of the government’s ministers with a view to possibly replacing some
of them.
Jalil last week denied a report the interim government had been sacked, the latest in a series of claims and
counter-claims that have created an atmosphere of confusion six months after the conflict ended.
Jalil said the
interim government still had to ensure security ahead of the election and collect weapons from the country’s array of
militias.