Libyan election authority rejects Gaddafi scion's candidacy for president: Report

Libya's election authority has rejected Muammar Gaddafi's son's candidacy to run for president, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi,son of the late dictator filed candidacy papers on Sunday. This was his first prominent public appearance in nearly a decade.

While his name is one of the best known in Libya, and though he once played a major role in shaping policy before the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that destroyed his family's regime, he has barely been seen for a decade.

The only public sight of him that his fellow Libyans have had since he was captured during the fighting in 2011 was when he appeared via videolink before a Tripoli court that sentenced him to death for war crimes.

Meanwhile, eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar announced his candidacy to run for president. He made his decision public in a televised speech on Tuesday.

Elections in Libya are due next month

The election is meant as a milestone in the political process to knit Libya back together after a decade of chaos that spiralled out of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

However, with no clear agreement on the legal basis for the election, major factions may reject the vote.

(With inputs from agencies)