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2021-12-23 Africa North
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Canadian Newspaper: Libyan PM Does Not Have University Degree From Canada
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[LIBYAREVIEW] The Presidential elections due to take place in Libya on 24 December are making waves in Canada. One of the three main candidates, and current Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba is accused of fabricating his master’s degree in civil engineering, which he claims to have obtained in 1992 at the University of Toronto. Three years earlier, he stated the same institution also awarded him an undergraduate degree in engineering.A few days ago, a Libyan activist, Husam El-Gomati, stated on social media that the diplomas were forged. The University of Toronto took several days last week to search its archives for Dbaiba’s degrees.
As Arabic names are often spelled in multiple way, the university attempted to locate records of the PM under at least six transliterations, to no avail. "We searched our records and found no entry matching the information you submitted to us," the university said in an email sent last Friday.
While the issue has caused a stir in Libya, it is unlikely to change the course of this controversial election campaign.
After years of civil war, Libya has experienced relative calm since the October 2020 ceasefire agreement. This fragile peace risks being shattered by political camps that do not recognise their mutual legitimacy.
"There is a risk that a faction will claim to have won while the others will dispute the legitimacy of its victory, which could lead to a kaboom of violence", predicts Claudia Gazzini, specialist on Libya within the International Crisis Group, an organization specialising in the study and prevention of conflicts. "To avoid this scenario, it would be good to postpone the election," she said.
With four days to go to the vote, no signs of election campaigns are visible on the ground, and several observers believe the vote will simply not take place.
"There is no one who wants this election, it will not take place," says Iman Bughaigis, an orthodontist who was involved in the 2011 revolt against Muammar Qadaffy
...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest...
in Benghazi.
Dbaiba’s candidacy is contested because he currently serves as Prime Minister, which gives him an unfair advantage, according to his opponents. "He campaigns with money from the national bank, he distributes money to get elected," laments Bughaigis.
A factor further complicating this election is that the allegiances of the three main candidates are determined by the regions where they find their support. Khalifa Haftar
 ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
, in the east of the country. Dbaiba in the west, and Saif al-Islam Qadaffy in the south. 
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Posted by Fred 2021-12-23 00:00||
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File under: Arab Spring
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