November 25, (THEWILL) – The High National Elections Commission of Libya (HNEC) on Wednesday announced that 25 of 98 candidates for the presidential election have been disqualified.
Seif al-Islam Gaddafii, son of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi was one of 25 candidates whose applications were rejected by the HNEC panel.
According to the Commission, the disqualification was decided based on recommendations of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigation Department, and the Citizenship and Passport Department.
“The names mentioned are excluded from the preliminary list of candidates as they do not meet the prerequisites and have not submitted all the necessary documents”, the HNEC said.
In the instance of Seif al-Islam, the HNEC cited election law provisions requiring candidates to “not have been sentenced for a dishonourable crime” and have a clean criminal record.
Seif al-Islam, whose location had been kept hidden for months, became the first heavyweight contender to declare.
He is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for suspected war crimes,
A Tripoli court had condemned him to death for acts committed during his father’s insurrection. A competing government in eastern Libya subsequently pardoned him.
The commission also published a primary list of 73 presidential candidates.
Other candidates still in the race include eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, temporary premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and former interior minister Fathi Bashagha, whose submissions were deemed valid by the committee.
According to the commission’s electoral plan, a final list of presidential candidates will be published earlier in December.
The votes on December 24 come as Libya strives to end a decade of instability that has devastated the oil-rich country since a NATO-backed rebellion deposed and killed Gadhafi in 2011.
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