The former Minister of the Interior of the Government of National Accord is one of the leaders who stays on top of the voting intentions in the African country.
Undoubtedly, Libya is living one of the most tense moments of its political life, as the country is holding its first presidential elections after 10 years of the fall of the government of Muammar al-Gaddafi and 70 years of independence from Italy.
Although profiles such as Marshal Khalifa Hafter stand out among the list of great candidates to assume the presidency, a candidate is lately beginning to attract attention among citizens due to his proposals on foreign policy and open-door economy.
This candidate is the former Minister of the Interior of the Government of National Accord, Fathi Bashaga, who has demonstrated a conciliatory tone in the electoral contest since the beginning of his candidacy. This position has led him to be an accepted figure at a national and international level.
In fact, who is Bashaga? Why has he become such a household name in recent days in Libya?
Fathi Bashaga is a politician from Misurata, in western Libya. He was born on August 20, 1962, and studied at the local Aviation Academy, where he graduated as a Second Lieutenant Fighter Pilot in 1984.
In 1993, he resigned from the Air Force and started working in the field of trade and importation. In 2014, he was elected member of the Libyan House of Representatives in representation of Misurata, and he was chosen to lead the Dialogue Committee held in Ghadames.
A year later, he was selected to be a member of the Libyan Political Dialogue Committee, whose meetings were held in Geneva, Ghadames and Skhirat, and which led to the formation of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj.
On October 7, 2018, he started serving as the Minister of the Interior in the Government of National Accord (GNA), where he strengthened internal security policies, signed cooperation agreements, and fought money laundering and corruption.
Thanks to his work in the Ministry of the Interior, Bashaga is currently consolidating his position as one of the major figures in the electoral race in Libya, promising to turn around the politics of the nation through a government that bets on the commitment of improving its security, its economy and its international relations.
Bashaga, the U.S. Ally in the Run-up to the Presidential Elections in Libya
The death of Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011 was a milestone in the political history of Libya, representing not only the fall of a decades-long dictatorship, but also reconfirming the power of the United States and other countries to advocate for democracy.
The leadership of the U.S. has led some candidates, such as former Minister of the Interior Fathi Bashaga, to propose a reconstruction of bilateral relations with that country and other U.S. allies in the Middle East and North Africa, in the run-up to the presidential elections.
“A stable Libya will be the key to the stability of the Mediterranean and coastal countries. After the elections, the country will be in a position to explore new relations with the world and break with a past where ties were limited due to the conflict,” says Bashaga.
Although the United States is a long-time partner of Libya, Bashaga proposes to strengthen the relationship even more through cooperation agreements or alliances that strengthen its strategy for energy, cybersecurity, mining, education and culture in his nation.
“Libya will go from being a mere friend of the United States to becoming an ally that can be compared to Australia or Taiwan in terms of strategic importance given its geographic location,” he adds.
