Libya is forming a national unity government after months of difficult talks between the country’s two rival administrations.
The north African country’s United Nations envoy Bernardino Leon said candidates for the new government had been decided.
The announcement, made in Morocco, is a step towards stitching together the oil-rich but chaotic country that fell apart after the overthrow of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country has been split between an Islamist-backed government based in Tripoli and an internationally-recognised administration in the east.
Mr Leon said the prime minister for the new government would be Fayez Sarraj, a member of the Tripoli-based parliament.
“We believe this list can work,” Mr Leon said of the candidates, who include three deputies for the prime minister – representing the country’s east, west and south – and two ministers to complete a presidential council.
“All of them will work as a team. This was not an easy task.”
Mussa al-Kouni, one of the proposed deputy prime ministers, said: “The hardest part has just begun.”
Naima Jibril, a judge and member of the Libyan National Dialogue Commission, praised the inclusion of two women ministers in the list. “Libyan women are capable of playing successful roles in future government,” she said.
Mr Leon had expected to announce the government on Wednesday, the latest in a series of dates the UN and the international community had been pushing the rival governments to meet in recent months.
At a top-level UN meeting last week, US secretary of state John Kerry, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and others urged the governments to act quickly and reach a deal, warning that the instability in the country was giving room for extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) to expand.
In addition, Libya’s chaos has opened the door to a surge of migrants and refugees who set off from its coast in often rickety boats operated by smugglers. Many have died on the journey.
The peace talks appeared fragile until the end. On Monday, the internationally-recognised government voted to extend its mandate past the October 20 deadline that was part of a political road map sketched out after Gaddafi was overthrown, signalling a lack of confidence in the UN’s efforts.
A new unity government has multiple challenges, including an economy near collapse, a number of active militia groups and severe need for basic assistance.
The UN says an estimated 2.44 million people in Libya – nearly 40% of the country’s population – are in need of protection and some form of humanitarian aid.
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