Libya’s Haftar to Join Qaddafi’s Son in Contesting Election
Libya’s Haftar to Join Qaddafi’s Son in Contesting Election
(Bloomberg) -- Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar said he intends to run for the presidency in December’s election, electrifying the race that’s supposed to draw a line under a decade of conflict in the OPEC member.
The candidacy of Haftar, who once led fighting against the Tripoli-based government, sees him join would-be contenders that already include a son of Moammar Al Qaddafi, the autocrat who ruled the nation for four decades before a NATO-backed uprising ousted him and plunged Libya into chaos.
The dominant force in Libya’s oil-rich east, Haftar made the declaration Tuesday in a speech. It’s not clear yet if he has already filed his papers to the national elections commission. His dual Libyan-U.S. nationality had been considered by some a potential block to his contesting the poll.
The North African nation fractured after Al Qaddafi was removed from power and then killed in 2011, unleashing a string of conflicts. Islamic militants and people-traffickers were able to establish a presence amid the insecurity.
Libya had been split between dueling eastern and western administrations since 2014, with the most recent fighting pitting Haftar, who was backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates as well as Russian mercenaries, against the Tripoli-based government which received crucial military support from Turkey.
The installation of a government of national unity has brought a fragile cease-fire, with the Dec. 24 elections the next step in the United Nations-sponsored stabilization process.
Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, who hadn’t been seen in public for years, registered with the electoral commission in the southwestern city of Sebha, this week. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity during the revolt. Held by a Libyan militia for six years, he was released in 2017.
Other potential candidates include the interim prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and Fathi Bashagha, a former interior minister who has promised a fairer deal for the oil-rich east in a bid to heal the divisions with the politically dominant west.
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