Libyan authorities reject the candidacy of Gaddafi’s son

Libya’s electoral authority on Wednesday rejected the candidacy of Seif al-Islam for the presidential election scheduled for December 24.
Wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “crimes against humanity”, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, who presented his candidacy on November 14, is among the 25 candidates whose files were rejected, according to a statement from the High Electoral Commission (HNEC).
HNEC explained that it rejected these applications on the basis of several pieces of legislation as well as letters addressed to it by the Attorney General, the Head of the Police Criminal Squad and the President of the Passport and Nationality Directorate.
To justify the exclusion of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, the HNEC cited articles in the electoral law stipulating that a candidate “must not have been convicted of a dishonorable crime” and must have a clean criminal record.
Captured in November 2011 by an armed group in Zenten in northwestern Libya, he was sentenced to death in 2015 after a summary trial.
HNEC announced on Tuesday, the day after the close of nominations, that 98 candidates, including two women, had submitted their applications to run for the post of head of state.
Among the most prominent candidates are still Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who de facto controls the east and part of the Libyan south, the influential former interior minister, Fathi Bachagha, and the head of the interim government, Abdelhamid Dbeibah.
The files of the latter three have been validated, the HNEC announced on Wednesday.