Tripoli (dpa) - Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba said on Monday that he would only hand over power to an elected government, effectively ruling out resignation in favor of a new transitional government.

Dabaiba added at a cabinet meeting in the capital, Tripoli: "We want this stage of ours to be the last of the transitional stages, and we will adhere to that, and if we go to elections, we will hand over power after that, because we want that."

Al-Dabaiba spoke about the demonstrations and protests that have swept many Libyan cities since last Friday, indicating that the people’s demand in them is to change the current faces, pointing out that there is no way to achieve this except for elections, commenting by saying: “The people must put their papers in the ballot boxes and choose Whoever wants, whether for parliament or the presidency."

Dabaiba affirmed the people's right to freedom and expression, explaining that this right is "guaranteed by law and cannot be argued about."

During the ninth meeting of the Council of Ministers at its headquarters in Tripoli yesterday, Monday, Dabaiba said: "I spoke with many Libyans, and encouraged them to go out and determine their fate. The people are the masters of the country, and we are at their service, and the people are demanding their rights that were robbed of them over the past ten years."

He added, "The first of these rights is self-determination in approving the constitution and political destiny, and we will stand with the people in that, and no individual, party or party can make the political decision by force against the decision-making people, just as it is not possible to argue about elections and democracy, and it is not possible allow any individual or group to benefit from the making of election laws.”