Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives has elected a new speaker, ending Aguila Saleh's 12-year tenure amid growing discontent among lawmakers over his leadership.
According to a parliament spokesperson on X, members of the 170-seat House voted on Tuesday to replace Saleh with Al-Salhin Abdelnabi al-Obeidi.
The vote came a day after 98 House members approved a new mechanism limiting the speaker and his deputies to a single 12-month term. The change ends an arrangement in place since the body's first leadership was elected in 2014.
Lawmaker Jebree Oheida told Reuters: "There was significant discontent among members with the old leadership because of many mistakes. We tried to communicate with the leadership to resolve these issues, but without result. Among those mistakes were decisions taken without consulting members."
According to the Libya Observer, the vote was overseen by Second Deputy Speaker Misbah Douma.
Saleh had previously rejected the process, calling the initial vote to limit the speaker's term "informal and legally void." He also said he had cancelled the session he had called for Tuesday.
The development comes as Libya remains politically and militarily divided between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar. Haftar's faction relies heavily on the parliament based in the eastern city of Benghazi, which is under its control.
Saleh has long been seen as a loyal ally of the Haftar family, but analysts say he appears weakened as Haftar's sons, particularly Saddam Haftar, consolidate their position. Emadeddin Badi, an analyst at London-based Chatham House, said: "Agila Saleh appears to be the latest casualty of Saddam Haftar's efforts to centralise decision-making in eastern Libya and impose his political role."
Al-Obeidi, who is from the same tribe as Saleh, represents the eastern city of Tobruk and previously chaired the parliament's Libya-Turkey friendship committee.
Also on Tuesday, the House elected Tarek al-Ashtar and Mesbah Douma as first and second deputy speakers respectively.
The elections follow the signing in August by representatives of Libya's rival factions in Tripoli of a landmark agreement that could see presidential and legislative elections held within two years.
The "4+4 committee" agreement, mediated by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), aims to resolve the recurring legal and institutional disputes that have paralysed the country since Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011.
The United States is pursuing a separate unity plan for the oil-rich North African nation, led by Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump on Arab and African affairs.
