Leader of Libya's Muslim Brotherhood party says prime minister has failed, alternative needed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013 file photo, Libyan's Prime Minister Ali Zidan speaks to the media during a press conference in Rabat, Morocco. Zidan was snatched by gunmen before dawn Thursday from a Tripoli hotel where he resides, the government said. The abduction appeared to be in retaliation for the U.S. special forces' raid over the weekend that seized a Libyan al-Qaida suspect from the streets of the capital. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar) (The Associated Press)
The leader of Libya's Muslim Brotherhood political party says the country's prime minister — who was briefly abducted by militia members earlier this week — has failed and needs to be replaced.
Mohammed Sawan, leader of Justice and Development party, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Saturday from Benghazi that the parliament is "seriously searching for an alternative" to Ali Zidan. Sawan says mismanagement by Zidan's government might have led to "irresponsible actions" by individuals, referring to Zidan's kidnapping.
On Friday, Zidan blamed political rivals' militias of orchestrating his abduction, but didn't name them. Sawan says Zidan told his lawmakers that he didn't mean Muslim Brotherhood.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Brotherhood came in second in the country's first parliamentary elections last year. It has five ministers in Zidan's government.