The House of Representatives, Libya’s eastern based parliament, voted on Monday to appoint Fawzi Abu Khazam as governor of the Central Bank of Libya, accepting at the same session the resignation of the incumbent, Naji Issa. Parliament spokesperson Abdullah Bliheg said 78 of the 90 lawmakers present voted in favour. The session was held in Sebha, in the south, the first time the parliament has sat there.
Abu Khazam, a member of the central bank’s board, had been acting as interim governor since October 22, when the House presidency tasked him with the governor’s duties. Issa had submitted his resignation in August. Issa himself took office in 2024 under an agreement between the two legislative chambers that ended an earlier dispute over the bank’s leadership and the removal of his predecessor.
The open question is recognition. The Tripoli based High Council of State, which shares legislative responsibilities and co signed the 2024 arrangement, had not publicly commented on Monday’s decision at the time of reporting, and the succession had already been contested in October, when a senior council figure rejected unilateral steps by the House presidency. The eastern parliament backs the Benghazi based administration of Osama Hamad, while the internationally recognised Government of National Unity, led by Abdulhamid Dbeibah, operates from Tripoli.
For markets the stake is not the policy rate, which the bank has limited room to use, but continuity: the central bank manages the flow of oil revenue through public finances, and rival claims on its governorship have in past episodes disrupted letters of credit and spending across both halves of the country.