Seif al-Islam Kadhafi registers to run for president of Libya

Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, son of slain Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi, has registered to run in December presidential polls seen as crucial to helping the country turn a page on a decade of conflict.

A handout picture released by the the Libyan High National Commission Facebook Page on November 14, 2021, shows Seif al-Islam Kadhafi (L) registering to run in the country's December presidential polls, in Libya's southern city of Sebha STRINGER libyan High National Electoral Comission FB Page/AFP

Libya's first ever direct presidential poll, with a first round on December 24, is the climax of a process launched last year by the United Nations to draw a line under years of violence since the revolt that toppled Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

"Seif al-Islam Kadhafi submitted... his candidacy for the presidential election to the High National Electoral Commission office in the city of Sebha," a statement by the commission said.

It said he had completed "all the required legal conditions" and that he was also issued with a voter registration card for the southern Sebha district.

Seif al-Islam, long-considered his father's erstwhile heir apparent, was seen registering his candidacy, dressed in traditional robes and head-dress.

After a decade in various forms of detention, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi surfaces in Sebha, southern Libya, to submit his candidacy papers for presidential elections scheduled for next month.

This is the first live footage of Saif al-Islam since 2011. pic.twitter.com/vvixRqkPlt

— Mary Fitzgerald (@MaryFitzger) November 14, 2021

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Last Monday, Libya opened registration for candidates in presidential and parliamentary polls.

Both are slated for 24 Decembe, but in early October parliament split the dates of the vote by postponing legislative elections until January.

Foreign powers have been pushing hard for both elections to be still held on the same date, as agreed at UN-led talks last year.

On Friday, world powers at a Paris summit repeated that call, saying Libya was at a "crossroads" that would determine its future. 

Speculation had been mounting for months over a possible presidential bid by Seif al-Islam, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the 2011 NATO-backed popular revolt.