A Libyan court has ruled that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of a dictator who was overthrown in Libya, could run for president, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming unrest.
Last week, the Electoral Commission removed him from the December 24 election that western governments are hoping to unite a divided world. On Thursday, a court in Sebha, southern Libya, upheld Gaddafi’s appeal against his candidacy, according to several reports citing his lawyer.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has called Gaddafi “guilty” because he has been convicted. He was sentenced to death in 2015 without a court in Tripoli on war charges during the 2011 riots when his father, Muammer Gaddafi, was ousted and later killed.
Young Gaddafi was captured in 2011 by an army northwest of the town of Zintan and held there until 2017, when he was released. He is still wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity while the former government is trying to crack down on Nato-backed terrorists.
For many years he succeeded his father, Gaddafi magnified the image of modernizer who want to bring human rights to Libya. But after the protests began in 2011, he warned of rivers of blood and was photographed carrying a pistol and swearing to crack down on terrorists.
UN and Western governments hope that the elections will help change the country that terrorists have ruled for the past decade and that foreign governments have participated in pilot wars by sending weapons and mercenaries. A total of 98 people registered to vote, but the electoral commission banned 25 last week including Gaddafi.
Experts say Gaddafi is interested in those who do not want to settle down later ten years of chaos and lawlessness. He also owns a natural division between the tribes and other territories which he inherited under his father. Still, he is a mild-tempered man who is despised by many which were released in 2011. Strong forces in western Libya have rejected his nomination. Some say he closed the Sebha court this week to prevent consideration of his appeal.
Other notables include Khalifa Haftar, a powerful man who ruled in eastern Libya and in 2019 launched insurgents that failed to capture Tripoli in the west, and to take over the country. Another is Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government. His election violates a promise he made not to run against a GNU leader whose main job was to prepare for the election. The Tripoli court rejected a number of appeals against his stay.
Experts say it is still uncertain whether the election will take place in a timely manner and some have warned that it could lead to further unrest if the results are not approved by the losers.
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