Gadhafi’s son declares candidacy for president of Libya

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, announced on Sunday that he is running for president of Libya in next month’s scheduled election.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, 49, presented paperwork affirming his candidacy in the town of Sabha, located roughly 400 miles south of the capitol Tripoli, according to a statement from the High National Elections Commission, cited by The Associated Press.

The son of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity connected to the beginning weeks of the 2011 civil war.

In a video shared with the AP by an election official, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi said God will decide the correct path forward for Libya. He was wearing a traditional Libyan robe, a turban and spectacles in his first public appearance in years.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi previously attended the London School of Economics, where he earned a Ph.D., though his attendance at the university and a donation from a Gadhafi-linked charity sparked a scandal at the institution.

Fighters apprehended Seif al-Islam late 2011 in the town of Zintan, the same year a NATO-backed coalition overthrew Moammar Gadhafi’s government, ending his 40-year reign.

Moammar Gadhafi was killed in October 2011 amid fighting, which eventually turned into the First Libyan Civil War.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi was ultimately released in June 2017. This July, he told The New York Times in an interview that he was looking into running for president.

The newspaper reported that the son of the former Libyan leader was “coy about whether he is running for president,” adding that he “believes that his movement can restore the country’s lost unity.”

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah declined to comment to the AP on Seif al-Islam Gadhafi running for president, saying, “The Court doesn’t comment on political issues, as for the legal side there is a pending warrant of arrest and that hasn’t changed.”

Seif al-Islam is the first major candidate to announce a bid for president of Libya, the AP noted. Military commander Khalifa Hifter, Parliament Speaker Agila Saleh and former Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga are all reportedly expected to jump into the race.

The country’s presidential election is scheduled for Dec. 24, following years of United Nations-led efforts to bring democratic norms to the country and end its war, the AP reported.

Updated at 4:50 p.m.