The new Government of National Unity of Libya, headed by Abdul Hamid Al - Dabiba, and the new President of the Presidential Council, Mohamed El - Exiled, officially assumed power to begin running the country's affairs and holding legislative and presidential elections at the end of this year.

The former President of the Presidential Council of the Government of the Libyan Accord, Mr. Al-Siraj, began the handover ceremony in the capital, Tripoli, where he confirmed in a brief statement that his Government had suffered greatly from external interventions.

For his part, the exiled stressed that the process of handing over power is a "consolidation of the civil State principle," adding that by the end of this year "we will hand over power so that Libyans can choose the new legislative and presidential power."

The head of government, Abdel Hamid Al - Dabiba, stressed the intention of Libya's new authority to carry out "reforms in the next phase."

Yesterday, the new Government of National Unity of Libya, headed by Abdul Hamid al-Dabiba, was sworn in before the Libyan Council of Representatives amid the presence of ambassadors from several countries and officials from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.

The spokesman for the President of the Government of National Unity, Mohamed Hamoudah, confirmed that:

"The Head of Government is accompanied by 27 Ministers swearing in the presence of the President of the Supreme Court, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Council of State, ambassadors of certain States and representatives of diplomatic missions."

Last Wednesday, the Libyan Government of National Unity, headed by Abdul Hamid al-Dabiba, won the confidence of the Libyan Parliament by a majority vote of members, in a step towards ending the East-West division of institutions in the country that has been going on for some 6 years.

Last month, the Libyan Political Forum voted in favour of the selection of a new interim executive, led by Mohamed El-Manfi, President of the Presidential Council, and Abdul Hamid Al-Dabiba, Prime Minister.