Parliamentarian: Gaddafi’s son has right to run for presidency

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader, Gadaffi will contest the upcoming presidential election in the country. Libya’s next election comes up in 2018 and spokesperson for Gadaffi family, Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul, told Egypt Today that Saif al-Islam has the support of the citizens.

Al-Soul also said son of the former dictator has the credentials required to end the chaos that has gripped Libya since the overthrow of his father Muammar Gadaffi in 2011. He said, “Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former Libyan president, enjoys the support of major tribes in Libya so he can run for the upcoming presidential elections due in 2018.

“The platform includes some procedures that Saif al-Islam hopes the United Nations would adopt to help Libya move from the incumbent transitional period to stability. “Saif al-Islam plans to impose more security and stability in accordance with the Libyan geography and in coordination with all Libyan factions.”

"It is natural that supporters of the former regime are invited to participate in the elections because they represent the majority in Libya, especially after backing up Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, who is now the most important figure in Libya, and has supporters in all the Libyan regions," Abdel Fattah told Al Arabiya. "Many see it as the only solution to save Libya from this chaotic situation and unite the ranks and eliminate terrorism," he added.

The return to power is not felt by the supporters of Qaddafi only inside Libya, outside, Ahmad Qadhaf al-Dam, the former regime leader, as well as other displaced supporters of the previous regime are leading a major move to mobilize supporters of Qaddafi to participate in the upcoming elections.

“Saif al-Islam Qaddafi has the right to exercise his role towards his people, especially after he became free by virtue of the amnesty approved by the internationally recognized parliament," he said previously in a statement to the press.

Saif al-Islam was released in June 2017 after being held by militants since 2011, but is still wanted by the International Court of Justice in The Hague for crimes against humanity.

On the other hand, The High State Council, the consultancy body created by the UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), is working on a draft of a referendum law. The law is needed for a referendum of the Libyan public that would take place on the constitution – once the constitution is approved by the House of Representatives (HoR).

Critics of the move say that the HSC should not be proposing laws but simply consulting on proposals put forward by the HoR. Article 23 of the LPA prescribes that a joint HoR-HSC committee be formed to draft a referendum law and an election law. Nevertheless, the move is seen as another nudge in the direction of the HoR to encourage it to enact its referendum law.

There has been public pressure on the existing political bodies to move the Libyan political process forward and out of the quagmire of its current transition phase which has lasted since 2011. One such public call is for the two deadlocked bodies to approve the draft constitution and put it forward to the public for a referendum vote.

It will be recalled that the High National Elections Council (HNEC) has commenced technical  preparations for elections generally agreed to take place in 2018.