DHAKA: Libya’s UN-backed Presidential Council, based in Tunis, has called on the international community to stop dealing with any rival powers within Libya.

BBC reported that the council nominated a unity government last month, but recognition of the cabinet has been delayed.

Libya has had two competing governments since 2014, following the downfall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The eastern House of Representatives (HOR), based in Tobruk, has failed to vote to approve the unity government.

The council said in a statement on Saturday that a document signed by a majority of the HOR’s members backing the new government, as well as the endorsement by the Political Dialogue Team, represented a “green light to start work”.

However, on Thursday, a statement by Libya’s Political Dialogue Team - composed of members of political figures in Libya and some MPs representing the country's two rival parliaments- did not appear to pave the way for this move.

It called for a speedy parliamentary vote on the proposed government, reports the BBC.

The Presidential Council is tasked with organising a transition of power to end the political chaos and armed conflict that has plagued Libya since Gaddafi's downfall.

But the Tunis-based council has faced stiff opposition from hardliners in both the HOR, which has received international recognition, and in a rival parliament in the capital, Tripoli.

BDST: 1137 HRS, MAR 13, 2016
SR