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Subscribe to RSSUpdated at 5:23 p.m. ET: Libya's national assembly on Sunday elected a former congressman and diplomat as the country's new prime minister.
Ali Zidan, who resigned as a congressman to run as a candidate in the election, won 93 votes, securing him a majority from those present in voting.
Zidan was a diplomat under Moammar Gadhafi before defecting in the 1980s and joining Libya's oldest opposition movement, National Front for the Salvation of Libya, from Geneva where he resided.
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The 200-member General National Congress selected the new prime minister following last week's dismissal of Mustafa Abushagur after just 25 days in the post for failing to form a government acceptable to the national assembly. Zidan had previously run against Abushagur and lost.
Minister for local government, Mohammed Al-Harari, came in second place with 85 votes.
Zidan told a news conference he would focus on restoring security to Libya.
"The security file will be my top most priority because all the problems that Libya suffers from stems from security issues. The government will be an emergency government to solve the crises that the country is going through," he said.
Zidan, who had support from the leading liberal coalition, the National Forces Alliance, also suggested, however, that he was ready to take into account the views of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood in his government.
"Islam is our belief system and the source for any jurisprudence, and anything against sharia is refused," he said.
Gadhafi kept Libya broadly secular, but the uprising which toppled him has paved the way for the emergence of both Islamist and more secular factions, as well as opening up tribal and regional divisions in the North African country.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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Pretty much covers it all, don't you think? All else would be worthless rhetoric.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the most sophisticated and well organized Islamist group in the entire ME. They are instigators and organizers, like Al Bana and Qtub. They don't engage directly in much in violence, they just preach and wait. They are in power in Egypt, and have power bases in Libya and Syria. Their objective is to create the Caliphite that has eluded Islamists for centuries. I don't think they will succeed, but there will be a lot of bloodshed to stop them and it won't be theirs.
What miserable cowards to hurt an innocent girl for talking about womens' education. The Taliban are narrow minded morons.
Installing a strict Islamic rule of law.
Change made possible by Barack Hussein Obama.
Only cost 100,000 black libians their lives.
Whats the alternative? sitting by while a genocide took place? putting boots on the ground for another decade long ground war?
You forgot the option of STAY THE HELL OUT OF IT!! in the first place. Why was it the job of U.S. and NATO to decide who runs Libya? You call it "genocide" but it was really just an internal civil war. The Islamist rebels started it and were about to get the azzes handed to them so we intervened on their behalf(!) Look at what it got us, we once again replaced bad with worse and this time paid a dear price for that foolishness.
4 comments in 5 hours.
Libs are afraid of talking about Libya
Don't get your hopes up tweets.... the Libs will support Obama on NBC... without fail. (Feistyredhead has been silent lately) To the article.... It was Sharia Law that Malala was shot for. She was speaking in opposition to such rules that prevented "woman from educating" I hope the US put conditions on it's monetary support to Libya so that it does not become another "stab in the back" Islamist state.