The military prosecutor in Libya has sent a letter to the country’s electoral body in a bid to stop Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi from running for the presidency in December.
Military prosecutor, Mohamed Gharouda urged the electoral commission not to process the application by Saif as a prospective presidential candidate when Libya goes to the polls on December 24.
It would be the first direct election to choose the Libya’s next leader in more than three generations.
In the same letter Gharouda advised the commission not to clear Libya’s warlord Khalifa Haftar to run for the presidency.
The electoral commission on Sunday said that Mr Gaddafi had submitted the necessary documents as a presidential candidate in the elections set for next month.
The letter categorically stated that Saif al-Islam and Haftar are under investigation for criminal acts, warranting the processing of their presidential bids to be halted until the probe is concluded.
Gharouda’s letter warned the electoral commission of any implication resulting from clearing their candidacies.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was accused over his role in the killing of protesters during the Libyan uprising which eventually overthrew his father in 2011.
Under the custody of a militia for six years, he was tried, and sentenced to death before it was later overturned.
49-year old Saif lives in opulent splendour in the northwestern town of Zintan.
He is still seen as a divisive figure in Libyan politics and his bid to run for the presidency may further complicate Libya’s electoral dilemma as a country struggling to shake off years of internal strife.
There are fears that the ongoing instability in the country which has lasted for ten years after Muammar Gaddafi was killed could undermine the poll’s credibility.
Many rights campaigners “do not trust the political climate as conducive to holding a free and fair election”.
Mr Haftar on his part is wanted by a US court for alleged torture in Libya.
WN/as/APA