Libyan MP, Ibrahim Al-Darsi warned against trying to prevent, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi from running for the upcoming Presidential elections, saying that this “would cause major problems in the country.”
In press statements, Al-Darsi said that the “exclusion of Saif Al-Islam means obstructing the elections.”
He added that “every Libyan citizen should have the right to run in the upcoming elections, and that Saif Al-Islam must enjoy the laws issued by the legislative authority, including the abolition of political isolation and the general amnesty law.”
“There are judicial rulings acquitting Saif Al-Islam, and therefore he has the right to run,” he noted. He revealed that the election laws issued by the 6 + 6 Joint Committee allow the Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Khalifa Haftar, Parliament Speaker, Ageela Saleh, and Prime Minister, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba to run for elections.
“Saif Al-Islam represents a very large segment of Libyan society… and the former regime still has supporters. Why isn’t he allowed to run, and let the Libyans have their say? If they (people) do not want him, they will not elect him,” he said.
The MP pointed out that “the West does not want Saif Al-Islam to run, but the east, like Russia, supports his candidacy.”
In April, Abdullah Othman, the Head of Saif Al-Islam’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 rumours 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.