The Libyan parliament on Tuesday authorized the acting Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to keep his position on condition that he forms a cabinet within a week.

"The parliament members...authorize the prime minister to keep his position until the House of Representatives is elected," a parliamentary spokesman said, adding that the General National Congress (GNC), the country's highest political authority, asked the current cabinet to resign and demanded Thinni create a new one.

Former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was ousted by the GNC last month and temporarily replaced by former Defense Minister Thinni, whose mandate was renewable every two weeks. However the GNC entered an deadlock over who should take over Zeidan's position.

Libya has been trapped in a power struggle between various interests groups after the 2011 turmoil which toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.