The New Government’s oath of office moved from Benghazi to Tobruk

The spokesperson for Libya’s House of Representative (HoR) Abdulla Belheeg announced that the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) previously scheduled oath of office set to take place in Benghazi will now be held in Tobruk.

The date and time for the swearing-in ceremony were announced shortly after the vote of confidence was granted by Libya’s parliament to the GNU last week, originally it had been set for Monday, 15 March in Benghazi.

The change of location triggered a social media storm that claimed that the city of Benghazi was no longer safe to host members of parliament and Libya’s newly approved cabinet.

Unconfirmed reports of insecurity and chaos in Benghazi have increased in the last week following the confirmation of Libya’s new government, some of these reports claiming that Khalifa Haftar is losing control over his forces while others are claiming that he is deliberately allowing increased insecurity to obstruct the path of Libya’s new government to office.

The HoR issued a second statement after the rumours, entirely ruling out that the transfer had anything to do with security concerns, confirming that it was purely logistical reasoning that led to the change in venue.

The Spokesperson confirmed that the parliament is within its constitutional right to hold the oath of office ceremony in its headquarters in Benghazi or its temporary headquarters in Tobruk.