Saif al-Islam Gadafi (the son of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya) has applied to be a candidate for the presidency. Internationally, he is sought after his involvement in Libya’s 2011 war that cost Muammar Gaddafi his life and power.
The 49-year-old was registered as a candidate in the December 24 presidential election, the divided country’s election authority has confirmed. The local media released footage showing Gaddafi Jr. signing the papers at Sabha’s election center on Sunday.
The traditional Bedouin robe he wore was a turban and turban that was very similar to his late father’s. His greying hair was also long.
This is the latest attempt at reconciliation in North Africa, where the nation remains fractured after being obliterated by NATO.
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Saif Al-Islam, if the election goes according to plan, will run against various candidates. They include Khalifa Haftar (east-based commander in military), Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (prime minister of UN-recognized Government of National Unity, Tripoli) and Aguila Saleh, speaker of Tobruk’s parliament.
Saif al-Islam will run as a member of a group of his father’s loyalists, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya, which was formally established in 2016. He is expected to appeal to those nostalgic for the economic prosperity and stability that marked his father’s lengthy authoritarian rule of Libya.
The bid to vote is being supported by international players. The international players met at Paris’s conference on Friday to secure their commitments to the success of the election. The rules of how it will be conducted is yet to be agreed upon.
Saif al Islam spent the last decade hiding, partly because he was held captive for many years in Zintan in northern Zintan. Self-declared authorities in Tripoli sentenced him to death in absentia for the alleged crimes committed in 2011’s war. But Zintan militias refused him execution. In 2017, he was released.
His bid to become president is further complicated by a warrant of arrest for him, issued in connection with his participation in the war in 2011 at The Hague by The International Criminal Court (ICC).
Gaddafi’s UK-educated scion was seen by many as an ideal future ruler of Libya. However, when Western-backed rebels rose up against his rule, Gaddafi sided with him.
Fadi Al Abdallah was quoted by the ICC as saying, “The court is not a spokesman.” “does not comment on any political matter,” in response to the Sunday news, while confirming that Saif al-Islam’s legal status in ICC eyes “has not changed.”
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