Bribes offered in election of new Libyan prime minister, leaked UN report claims

Abdelhamid Dabaiba, the newly selected prime minister of Libya, marking the tenth anniversary of the 2011 revolution last month
Abdelhamid Dabaiba, the newly selected prime minister of Libya, marking the tenth anniversary of the 2011 revolution last month
MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Libya’s latest attempt to end its nearly decade-long civil war has fallen into crisis after a leaked UN report alleged that bribes were offered to delegates voting on the selection of a “unity” prime minister.

Diplomats who have seen the report said it alleged that payments running into hundreds of thousands of dollars were offered to delegates to vote for Abdelhamid Dabaiba, a Gaddafi-era tycoon, at a UN-hosted dialogue in Tunis last month.

Aguila Saleh, the Speaker in the Tobruk parliament who narrowly lost out to Dabaiba in the vote, told The Times that he had asked for the postponement of a parliamentary session on March 8 to approve the new interim government, while investigations were held into the bribery claims.

“If it is proven