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Aguila Saleh joins the son of a former Libyan dictator and warlord in the race for the highest office in the country.
The speaker of parliament in eastern Libya has said he will run in next month’s election.
The announcement of Aguila Saleh on Wednesday follows many other prominent Libyan figures including Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of a former Libyan dictator, and Khalifa Haftar, a powerful general. Both men are superior division statistics defendants of war.
In a televised address, Saleh said he wanted to “turn the page on conflicts, look to the future” and launch a national reconciliation process, which he described as a “pillar of a stable country”.
“Public voting is the only legitimate source of power,” added the 77-year-old.
Libya has been embroiled in controversy since the NATO uprising in 2011 overthrew former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was later assassinated.
The oil-rich country has been divided for years between the eastern government, with the help of Haftar, and the United Nations-sanctioned United Nations organization in Tripoli, with the help of western Libyan troops.
Each side has also had the support of mercenaries and foreign troops from Turkey, Russia and Syria, and various countries.
The presidential election on December 24 is part of a plan to end 10-year-old conflicts.
But disputes continue over electoral laws, including who should be eligible, the correct procedure and basis for voting, which raises doubts as to whether it will ever happen.
The only law passed to hold elections was one of Saleh’s in September, which opponents said they did without a full vote or quorum.
Opponents say the main requirements appear to have been set to allow Saleh and his eastern counterpart Haftar to run without any risk of losing their titles if they failed to win.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
The vote was made in the House of Representatives, but it was contested, and the legislature fled Tripoli to the city east of Tobruk after a court ruled that it was illegal.
Saleh, who has chaired the House of Representatives since 2014, was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union for refusing to ratify the UN-recognized National Accord Government.
The sanctions were lifted earlier this year as peace process progressed, including the establishment of a new coalition government and a run-off election.
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