Libya’s election commission has announced that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, is not eligible to run in the December presidential election.
Gaddafi was one of 25 candidates rejected by the commission with this initial decision, which, however, can be appealed, which will eventually be judged by the courts. In all, 98 people registered to run in the December 24 presidential election.
The military prosecutor in Tripoli urged the commission to exclude Gaddafi because he was convicted in absentia of war crimes in 2015, for his role in suppressing the 2011 uprising, when his father was overthrown and killed. Saif al-Islam is also wanted by the International Criminal Court for “crimes against humanity”.
Some of the other candidates, who were not rejected by the commission, have also been accused by their political opponents of possible violations of the election law. The caretaker Prime Minister, Abdulhamid al-Dibaiba, has vowed not to run in the UN-sponsored agreement earlier this year. He also did not resign three months before the election, as stipulated by the controversial election law.
As for General Khalifa Haftar, the powerful man of eastern Libya, he is said to have US citizenship and should be excluded from the election. Many in western Libya also accuse him of war crimes during the 2019-2020 occupation operation in Tripoli.
Haftar denies having committed war crimes and says he is not a US citizen. Dibeba described as “problematic” the election law passed in September by Parliament Speaker Angila Saleh, who is also running in the election. The nominations of all three, as well as the powerful, former Interior Minister Fati Basaga, were approved by the committee.
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