Libya's parliament suspends UN talks over power-sharing proposal
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Friday, March 20, 2015 file photo, U.N. special envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, speaks during a press conference at the Palais des Congres of Skhirate, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Rabat, Morocco. Libya's parliament drops out of U.N.-brokered negotiations in protest against a draft plan for it to share power with its rivals, throwing doubt on what is seen as a last-chance effort to avert the further collapse of the North African nation. (AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar, File) (The Associated Press)
Representatives of Libya's internationally-recognized parliament have suspended their participation in United Nations-brokered talks over a proposed power-sharing scheme with a rival Islamist-led government.
A spokesman for the parliament's negotiators, Essa Abdel-Kauoum, told The Associated Press the council made its decision on Tuesday after U.N. envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon "succumbed" to Islamist demands and presented a draft proposal that gives them more power.
Libya is split between an Islamist-led government backed by militias that seized the capital last August and an internationally recognized elected parliament forced to convene in the country's far east.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.N. draft stipulates the formation of a national unity government and would create a new Islamist-dominated body with legislative and executive powers.