The brief October 2013 kidnapping of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan demonstrated that coup attempts are possible, but it is unlikely that any faction in Libya would be able at this stage to garner enough support to hold power. Furthermore, the shadow of the years following Muammar Qadhafi's own military coup in 1969 still looms over Libya, and current military leadership has not inspired public confidence, making a coup by military members especially difficult.Following in the footsteps of those in recent months who have made sweeping political declarations without the authority to do so, retired Maj. General Khalifa Hiftar formerly of the Libyan army announced just six days before the elections for the sixty person committee to draft a new Libyan constitution that the military would be taking over, the GNC would be dissolved, and a new political roadmap would be devised.However, after all of Hiftar's inflammatory words, absolutely nothing happened. According to the New York Times,
"Then, nothing happened. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan called the supposed coup “ridiculous.” A military spokesman called it “a lie.” None of the Libyan Army’s few tanks or soldiers made any visible moves. The empty Parliament was quiet."
More on the story is available from the New York Times here: "In Libya, a Coup. Or Perhaps Not."