Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has decided to present his candidacy for Libya’s presidential elections, which the United Nations is planning to organize before the end of this year, a Libyan official said on Monday.
Ayman Boras, the man who presents himself as in charge of the political reform program of Saif al-Islam, said during a news conference in Tunis that the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was planning to engage in the upcoming electoral battle with a program that would include a “comprehensive political, security and social vision.”
“He does not seek power, but to save Libya,” Boras said, adding: “His hands are extended to anyone who wants the good for Libya locally, regionally and internationally.”
“Saif al-Islam is free and enjoys all his civil rights, and he is currently within the Libyan borders,” he said, stressing that Gaddafi’s son would directly address the Libyans in the coming days to announce his electoral program.
Khalid al-Ghuwail, Saif al-Islam’s lawyer, confirmed that Gaddafi would register as an official candidate “when candidacy door is open,” stressing that Libyans “have the right to choose.”
Gaddafi’s son is the second Libyan public figure to announce his intention to run in the country’s next presidential elections, after Arif Ali Nayed, Libya’s former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, announced last month that he plans to run for office.
It is still too early to talk about opening the candidacy door in the elections, which the United Nations mission is seeking to hold before the end of September, despite the ongoing security and military chaos in the country.
Saif al-Islam has not appeared publicly since he was released from prison in the mountainous town of Zintan in western Libya last year. While his current place of residence is unknown, Gaddafi’s family lawyer said last year that Saif al-Islam was in good health and was following the political situation in Libya from his home.
