On Wednesday, Abdullah Othman, the Head of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s political team, warned the Libyan people against “being drawn behind some countries’ attempts to involve the candidacy issue in their conflicts with other countries.”
Othman, who is a member of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) said that Saif Al-Islam “is in political contact, not only with Russia, but with all key stakeholders concerned with Libya regarding his vision of holding elections.”
“Of course, the issue of Saif Al-Islam’s candidacy is raised during these discussions, but this doesn’t mean that he is forming alliances with any country. It is not permissible to hold him accountable for any country’s attempt to involve its contacts with the Libyan Presidential candidate, in its conflicts with other countries,” he added.
The LPDF member emphasized that Gaddafi and his political team are “open to holding talks with any country, including the United States and the United Kingdom, as long as they maintained non-interference in Libyan internal affairs.”
He denied all rumors of foreign funding, describing these as “false news promoted by his opponents to tarnish his image.”
Othman confirmed that Saif Al-Islam “enjoys wide popularity among Libyans, which makes him a key competitor during the upcoming Presidential race.”
Libya descended into a decade of violence following the 2011 overthrow of the late longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed rebellion.
The resulting power grab gave rise to a myriad of home-grown militias and prompted interventions by Arab powers as well as Turkey, and Western states.
Presidential and legislative elections were originally scheduled for December 2021, to cap an UN-sponsored peace process. But the polls were postponed indefinitely, because of controversial candidates and the laws on participation.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down.
In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
