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In a decision of the Libyan Electoral Commission, 25 registered for the presidential elections of the country will not be able to be candidates. Among those disqualified is Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the leader Muammar al-Gaddafi who was overthrown in 2011. The main argument for banning his candidacy was that he was accused of crimes against humanity.
In a decision by the Libyan Electoral Commission, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi, will not be allowed to be a presidential candidate. He was declassified along with 24 other candidates.
The measure may be appealed and the country’s judiciary – plunged into a deep war and institutional crisis since 2011 – will have the last word.
The Commission made the decision against Saif al-Islam Gaddafi arguing that he had been sentenced to death in absentia by a Tripoli court in 2015 for war crimes committed during the uprising against his father in 2011.
The request for the exclusion of Saif al-Islam was submitted to the Commission by the Military Prosecutor’s Office.
Gaddafi’s nomination has caused unrest in Libyan society and sparked protests. However, Gaddafi’s supporters are also expected to speak out against his son’s removal from office.
Also on the excluded list are Ali Zeidane, the former transitional prime minister from 2012 and the former leader of Parliament, Nouri Abu Sahmain.
The Committee allows the candidacy of Marshal Khalifa Haftar
A controversial candidate that was approved by the Electoral Commission is Libya’s general and strongman, Khalifa Haftar, who is also accused of crimes against humanity after he besieged the country’s capital, Tripoli, for months in 2019.
In addition, Haftar, who leads one of the most powerful fronts in the war, is singled out for having US citizenship, something that could exclude him from the race. Haftar not only denies having US citizenship, but also the war crimes he is accused of.
A controversial electoral law opened the door for Haftar to run for president in elections that are reeling from the country’s political instability.
This law is criticized by the interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who initially said he would not run for the presidency, but is on the list of those approved as a candidate, despite not having left office three months earlier. , as required by law.
Dbeibah, a billionaire who made his fortune during the Gaddafi government, has described the electoral rules issued in September by the Speaker of the Parliament Aguila Saleh, who is also a candidate, as “defective”.
The UN envoy to Libya, Jan Kubis, who resigned on Tuesday, told the UN Security Council that the Libyan judiciary would make the final decision on electoral rules.
A peace process for the Libyan conflict in suspense
The elections, which are scheduled for December 24 and are backed by the UN, are viewed with suspicion internationally due to the country’s political instability since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011.
Although they are seen as a hope to end a decade of war, some experts affirm that if it is not done on the basis of deep negotiations and with clear rules, as well as with the political will of the different sides facing each other in the nation, the elections could return. to detonate the Libyan conflict.
The elections are still in between due to big disputes over electoral rules, including the legal basis of the vote and who should be eligible to run.
The United States, France, the United Kingdom and Italy urged Libyans not to postpone the elections and at least hold the first round on the date set.
These are the first presidential elections called since Libya gained independence from Italy in 1951.
With Reuters and EFE
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