Moammar Qadhafi’s son disqualified from running for president
Seif Al Islam Qadhafi waves during a meeting with youths in the capital Tripoli. AFP
Libya's top electoral body on Wednesday disqualified the son and onetime heir apparent of the late dictator Moammar Qadhafi from running for president in elections to be held next month, citing his previous convictions.
Other hopefuls still in the running include eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, interim premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah and former interior minister Fathi Bashagha, as the commission said their submissions were valid.
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The December 24 polls come as Libya seeks to turn a page on a decade of violence that has rocked the oil-rich nation since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Qadhafi in 2011.
Libya's eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar attends a meeting.
Wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, Seif Al Islam, who registered to run on November 14, was among 25 candidates whose bids have been rejected, the HNEC commission said in a statement.
The name of Seif Al Islam Qadhafi appeared on a list of ineligible candidates issued by the country's High National Elections Committee. He can appeal the decision in court in the coming days.
Seif Al Islam had been sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in 2015 for using violence against protesters in a 2011 uprising against his father, but that ruling has since been called into question by Libya's rival authorities. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to the uprising.
The son of Libya's former dictator submitted his candidacy papers in the southern town of Sabha on Nov. 14. It was the first time in years that the 49-year-old, who earned a PhD at the London School of Economics, appeared in public.
Fighters in the town of Zintan had captured him late in 2011, as the uprising ended his father's rule after 40 years. Seif Al Islam was released in June 2017.
