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TRIPOLI: Libya’s electoral commission on Wednesday announced its rejection of the candidacy of Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, a son of slain dictator Muammar Qaddafi, to run in next month’s presidential election.
Wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, Seif Al-Islam, who registered to run on November 14, was among 25 candidates whose bids have been rejected, the HNEC commission said in a statement.
It said it rejected the 25 on legal grounds as well as based on information from officials including the public prosecutor, a police chief and the head of the passports and citizenship department.
In a surprise announcement, Seif, whose whereabouts had been kept secret for several months, became the first heavyweight candidate to sign up for the election race.
He had been sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in 2017 for crimes committed during the revolt that toppled his father. He was later pardoned by a rival administration in eastern Libya.
In July, he emerged from years in the shadows and told The New York Times he was planning a political comeback.
In a rare interview, Seif said he wanted to “restore the lost unity” of Libya after a decade of chaos.
Libya’s electoral commission said Tuesday that a total of 98 candidates, including two women, had registered to run in the presidential election scheduled for December 24.
The polls come as Libya seeks to turn a page on a decade of violence that has rocked the oil-rich nation since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed Qaddafi in 2011.