Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi plans to run for president in Libyan forthcoming elections in 2018.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was released from prison in June six years after the fall of his father, enjoys the support of major tribes in Libya and hopes to impose more security and stability in accordance with the Libyan geography and in coordination with all Libyan factions says Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul, spokesman to the Gaddafi family.
On Wednesday, the Libyan Government of National Accord’s (GNA) foreign minister, Mohamed Siala, said that presidential election in Libya might be held in mid-2018.
Since the fall of his late father, Muammar Gaddafi, the North African country has been plunged into anarchy following rivalry among local militias. Saif al-Islam now claims that some of those who opposed the reign of his late father now believe in him to restore the fallen state of Libya back to its glorious past.
Slavery and Anarchy
In November, 2017, CNN investigative report showed Libyans engaged in an open slave trade with mostly Nigerian and Nigerien migrants travelling to Europe through the desert and the sea as victims. Human slaves were traded for as low as $400 and many were inhumanly maltreated in the process. The report drew a worldwide condemnation against the illicit acts and drew the attention of the world to the state of anarchy going on in Libya.
Video showing Libyan Slave trade. Video credit: CNN
The civil war’s aftermath and proliferation of armed groups led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014. The ongoing crisis in Libya has so far resulted in tens of thousands of casualties since the onset of violence in early 2011.
Despite news of widespread anarchy and warring militias, Saif al Islam believes he has a cure for the recent Libyan madness.
“Saif will soon announce the nomination [of his own candidacy] for the election in Libya, this is already a settled issue, no discussions about this are being conducted. “He will announce this on TV and all the media. He will decide on the date of the announcement in the next few days,” Soul, his spokesperson, said.
