A spokesman for the interim Libyan parliament said shooting broke out outside the main entrance to the parliament on Tuesday, causing lawmakers to postpone the selection of a new prime minister in the capital, Tripoli.
Parliament spokesman Omar Humaidan said there was an exchange of fire when presidential guards prevented an armed group from entering the building while members of the interim parliament were holding a special session to select a new prime minister, more than a month after sacking liberal-leaning Prime Minister Ali Zidan.
Lawmaker Hussein al-Ansari said that in voting on Tuesday the parliament had two candidates to choose from- 42-year-old businessman Ahmed Matiq from the country’s third biggest city of Misrata, and Omar al-Hassi, a political science professor from the country’s second largest city of Benghazi. Al-Hassi is backed by the hard-line Islamist bloc in parliament while Mr. Matiq is supported by independents.
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The vote to choose a new prime minister was postponed until May 4.