Libya's interim PM 'elected through bribery', UN inquiry claims

The UN inquiry states that interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's supporters offered bribes to the tune of $200,000 to secure votes.

It is believed his supporters offered money to 75 UN- selected delegates who oversaw voting in the new prime minister and ushering in a new age in the torn country.

The meeting occurred in a hotel in Tunis, the Guardian reports, where an argument was caught between the delegates after they allegedly found out that some were being paid $500,000 in bribes.

The report found that two participants allegedly offered bribes of up to $200,000 to "at least three forum participants" in exchange for voting for Dbeibah as prime minister.

On Monday, Dbeibah's office said he was "monitoring attempts to undermine the process of forming a government and obstruct the process of approving it, by spreading rumours and false reports".

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The statement confirmed the "integrity of the process through which the new authority was selected, in full transparency, as witnessed by Libyans".

"We assure the Libyan people that the first stage of the roadmap will soon be completed" with a confidence vote in parliament to approve the government, Dbeibah said.

The report will be released in its entirety on March 15.

"The situation we are in today is the result of the UN prioritising expediency above all else and at the expense of due process," said Elham Saudi, the director of Lawyers for Justice in Libya and a member of the forum.

"The root cause of this is there was a rejection of any meaningful criteria to those standing concerning their record – and the allegations against them – concerning human rights and corruption," Saudi added.

"That approach is now risking undermining the credibility of the whole process."