Libya's High Council Of State Re-Elects Al-Mishri As Chairman

Libya's High Council of State on Tuesday re-elected Khaled Al-Mishri as chairman for a fourth one-year term.

Al-Mishri won 73 out of 128 votes in the polls that took place in the capital, Tripoli, council's spokesman Mohamed Nasser told Anadolu Agency.

He noted that Al-Mishri's victory came "during the second round of the vote" in which he defeated his rival Salah Mito.

Saeed Kula was also running for the chairmanship in the first round but acquired the least number of votes, forcing him out of the second round. Following his re-election, Al-Mishri urged the council in a brief televised speech "to work with a spirit of brotherhood".

Libya has recently witnessed positive developments following a breakthrough in which rival parties agreed on Feb. 5 on a unified new executive authority to govern Libya in the lead-up to national elections on Dec. 24.

Libyans hope the new authority will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara -