LIBYA: Libya’s election commission said on Wednesday that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former ruler and a major candidate in December’s planned presidential election, was ineligible to run, compounding the turmoil surrounding the vote.
Saif al-Islam was one of 25 candidates that was disqualified in an initial decision pending an appeal process that will ultimately be decided by the judiciary.
There are 98 Libyans who registered as candidates.
Disagreements over election regulations, such as the legal foundation for voting and who should be able to run, are threatening to undermine an internationally sponsored peace process aimed at ending a decade of factional strife.
After his conviction in absentia on war crimes charges in 2015 for his role in waging the revolution that deposed his father Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the military prosecutor in Tripoli requested the panel to exclude Saif al-Islam out. He has categorically denied any misconduct.
Some of the other candidates initially approved by the commission had also been accused of possible violations by political rivals.