Saif, son of ex-Libyan leader, eyes presidency
News & Trends •
source63 mr. saif al-islam gaddafi second son of ex-libyan leader late muammar gaddafi is set to launch his election bid for presidency1 local media reports say saif who had been detained by a militia in libya until his release last year will be joining the race to be the strife-torn country1 saif who is reportedly inside libya since his release will in a matter of days appear on television to pitch his presidential ambition before voters1 saifs manifesto is reportedly revolving around a clarion call for administrative reforms national reconciliation and the building of a modern state1 it is not known what libyans made of his alleged presidential ambitions1 the 45-year-old who was never part of his fathers administration had an arrest warrant from the international criminal court over his head over his alleged role in the bloody persecution of political opponents1 politically fragmented libya goes to the polls later this year to get a leader that would unify the country1 with libya still blighted by a deadly civil war shortly after his father was killed saif was captured in the south of the country by militiamen originating from zintan1 while being held in zintan he was sentenced to death four years later by a tripoli court in a trial in absentia1 he was released from custody in june 2017 and continues to live in libya although his exact whereabouts remain unknown1 since the overthrow of his father in an armed uprising in 2011 libya has been caught up in a struggle for control by two rival governments based in tripoli and benghazi1 a un-funded election is expected to take place toward the end of 20181 confirming its involvement in january the un said it was encouraged by number of libyans who had registered to vote in what would be the countrys first western-style democratic election in decades1 he was widely regarded as a potential successor to his father a theory which he had severally attempted to debunk1