Libya's High Election Commission Deletes Statement Rejecting Saif al-Gaddafi's Presidential Bid

Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place in Libya on 24 December and are viewed as the main outcome of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum held under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva last year.

Libya's High National Election Commission has deleted its statement saying that it rejected Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's presidential election bid.

According to the commission's statement earlier shared on Facebook, the decision to reject Gaddafi's bid was made after people opposed to his candidacy started protesting and forced employees at electoral commissions in several Libyan towns to stop working.

"Given the eroding stability and the closure of a number of branches of the commission, the commission decided to reject the candidacy of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi," the head of the commission, Imad Saih, said.

The statement was removed less than 10 minutes after it was published.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's former leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, submitted his candidacy on 14 November.

Libya has been in a state of political turmoil after its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in 2011. Since then, the Government of National Accord and Libyan National Army have been fighting for the right to rule Libya. In March 2021, the Government of National Unity was formed as part of the international mediation effort to stop the crisis. It was agreed that the body will be in charge until the general election – recently scheduled for 24 December.