Libya’s former minister files for presidential election

TRIPOLI: Libya’s former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha registered as a presidential candidate on Thursday for a planned December election that remains in doubt amid disputes over the rules.

Bashagha was the influential interior minister in the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) that ruled in western areas and was replaced in March by a new unity government. He joins a field of prospective candidates that includes late ousted dictator Muammer Al Qaddafi’s son Saif Al Islam Qaddafi, the eastern military commander Khalifa Hatar, and the eastern-based parliament speaker Aguila Saleh.

A Un-backed peace process calls for presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 24, but there has been no widespread agreement on the legal basis for the vote.

Disputes between rival factions and political entities have focused on questions over who should be allowed to run, the eventual role of the directly elected president and the voting schedule.

Analysts say the arguments surrounding the elections threaten to derail the peace process, whether the vote goes ahead or not.

The speaker of Libya’s eastern-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, said on Wednesday he would run in next month’s presidential election, ater a military strongman and the son of Libya’s former dictator made similar announcements.

“I announce my candidacy for the presidency,” Saleh said in a televised speech.

He said he would seek to “turn the page on conflict, look towards the future” and launch a process of national reconciliation, which he said was a “pillar of a stable nation.”

“I commit to respecting the constitutional declaration, to guaranteeing the independency of the judiciary and preserving Libya’s unity and independence,” he said, adding that establishing a democratic system to guarantee freedoms, justice and equality for all was among his priorities.

Saleh still needs to register with the electoral commission to run in the Dec.24 poll.

Libya’s first ever direct presidential poll would mark the climax of a process launched by the United Nations to try to draw a line under years of violence and division in the oil-rich nation.