Libya Parliament Speaker Submits Papers to Run for President

Parliament head Aguila Saleh attends a session to discuss approving new government, in Sirte, Libya March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Parliament head Aguila Saleh attends a session to discuss approving new government, in Sirte, Libya March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
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Libya Parliament Speaker Submits Papers to Run for President

Parliament head Aguila Saleh attends a session to discuss approving new government, in Sirte, Libya March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Parliament head Aguila Saleh attends a session to discuss approving new government, in Sirte, Libya March 8, 2021. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

The speaker of the eastern-based Libyan parliament, Aguila Saleh, submitted papers on Saturday to stand in presidential elections.

"I came today to the headquarters of the High Elections Commission in Benghazi to submit the required documents for the nomination to the position of president of the Libyan Republic", he said on Libya Votes TV.

The elections, scheduled for Dec. 24, remain in doubt amid disputes over the rules.

Saleh, 77, who has led the country’s House of Representatives since 2014, announced his candidacy in a video statement late Wednesday.

“We are working to overcome the past, and close the chapter of conflict, and to embark on the future,” Saleh, a former judge, said in the statement.

Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar and Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of ousted dictator Moammer Gaddafi, have also announced bids.



Türkiye Tells Germany Kurdish Militant Groups Must Lay Down Arms

20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
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Türkiye Tells Germany Kurdish Militant Groups Must Lay Down Arms

20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)
20 December 2024, Türkiye, Ankara: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock shakes hands with her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan ahead of their meeting in Ankara. (dpa)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on Friday that it is essential for Kurdish militant groups including the PKK and YPG to lay down arms and dissolve, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said.

Ankara considers the YPG, which has fought for years in Syria alongside US troops, to be an extension of the PKK, which fights against the Turkish state and is banned as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the EU and United States.

Turkish forces and their Syrian allies have clashed with a YPG-led alliance in Syria since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad this month.