Libya: Interim PM submits candidacy for Dec. 24 Presidential elections

Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, the interim Libyan Prime Minister submitted Sunday his candidacy for next month crucial presidential elections set to endow the oil-rich country with a central Administration a decade after former leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and assassinated.

“At this historic moment in the history of the Libyan nation, I feel with you the scale of the task. I present my candidacy file to serve you and nothing else,” Dbeibah said after he handed out his application to the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) in Tripoli.

“Despite all the difficulties and ambiguous circumstances that faced the election process, I asked you not to lose hope. The beginning of the right path has become clear. We started the journey together and we will complete it together,” he added.

Dbeibah also stressed that he submitted his candidacy for the sake of the unity of the country and vowed to complete the long and difficult journey, Libya Observer notes.

“There will be no war after today, Libya will only be united and secured in which this great people will live in prosperity and a decent life,” he also stressed.

Dbeibah became the 57th candidate to submit his bid for elections. He is likely to face Khalifa Haftar, the east-based army warlord; Angila Saleh, the speaker of the House of Representatives; and Saif al Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former leader. The three have also submitted their candidacy for the poll.

The country’s military court however has stood against the candidacies of Haftar and Saif al Islam and requested that HNEC freezes their bids.