Son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi announces candidacy for president

The son and one-time heir apparent of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi announced on Sunday his candidacy for the country’s presidential election next month, Libya’s election agency said.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising, submitted his candidacy papers in the southern town of Sabha, 650km (400 miles) south of the capital of Tripoli, the High National Elections Commission said in a statement.

Gaddafi’s son was captured by fighters in the town of Zintan late in 2011, the year when a popular uprising, backed by the Nato, toppled his father after more than 40 years in power. Gaddafi was killed in October 2011 amid the ensuing fighting that would turn into a civil war.

In a video shared by an election official, Saif al-Islam addressed the camera, saying that God will decide the right path for the country’s future. The 49-year old, who earned a PhD at the London School of Economics, wore a traditional Libyan robe, turban and spectacles. It was the first time in years that he appeared in public.

The second-born son to the long-time dictator, he was seen as the reformist face of the Gaddafi regime before the 2011 uprising. He was released in June 2017 after more than five years of detention. This July, he told The New York Times in an exclusive interview that he was considering a run for the country’s top office. His candidacy is likely to stir controversy across the divided country.