Sergey Kron
Ten years ago, on October 20, 2011, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was brutally killed by rebels with the support of NATO troops. Now people remember the times of his reign, sighing. Gaddafi's regime defeated illiteracy, developed medicine, and made men and women equal in rights. At the same time, the Jamahiriya authorities used Islam in their ideology and relied on tribal traditions.
Of the entire Gaddafi family, only his beloved son, who recently turned 49, remained in the country. He was part of his father's inner circle, focusing mainly on public relations and diplomacy.
By the way, at one time, Seif al-Islam publicly rejected Gaddafi's offer to take an official post, although he actually performed the duties of the Prime Minister of Libya.
It is known that Gaddafi Jr. was directly involved in the brutal suppression of the uprising against his father in 2011. The International Tribunal in The Hague still has a warrant for his arrest on two charges of crimes against humanity - murder and persecution of opponents of the regime.
Seif al-Islam was captured, tried and sentenced to death, but he survived and is already at large continues to fight for "a place in the sun" of Libya.
The BBC reported that in August, Libyan prosecutor Mohammed Garuda , who represents today's government in Tripoli, issued an arrest warrant for Seif al-Islam on charges of having links with Russian mercenaries from the private military company Wagner. There is talk among voters that Muammar's son is closely connected with the Russian special services, and, they say, Moscow will support him in the upcoming general elections.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Seif al-Islam expressed confidence that he would be able to unite the country at a time when nostalgia for his father's era seems to be at its peak.
And so, enjoying immense popularity among the people, Seif al-Islam decided to participate in the elections. But the High Election Commission of Libya announced the refusal to register the son of the former Libyan leader, and after a few minutes deleted this message from its official Facebook page . The poor people from the outskirts of Tripoli helped, who threatened the authorities with a riot. To begin with, they blocked the offices of the High Election Commission in several cities of the country.
According to the decision of the Forum of Libyan Political Dialogue, the presidential and parliamentary elections in the country are to be held on December 24. A legislative framework is being prepared for their implementation: new laws on the election of the head of state and deputies. However, the Libyan State Council, which is de facto the second chamber of parliament dominated by Islamists, said that the adoption of the law on parliamentary elections was contrary to the Constitutional Declaration. The State Council did not agree with the law on presidential elections. Ultimately, the State Council called for blocking the elections in order to avoid a civil war in the country.
Libya is the richest country in oil in Africa, and the conflict there has long developed into a hybrid clash of major powers. For several years, there were two parallel centers of power in the state - the Government of National Accord led by Faiz Sarraj in Tripoli (supported by Turkey and Qatar), as well as a temporary cabinet in the east of the country, in which the head of the Libyan National Army, General Khalifa Haftar, plays the main role. He is directly or secretly assisted by the UAE, Egypt, Russian mercenaries from PMC Wagner, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and France.
In addition to Seif al-Islam, General Haftar, current Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeiba and Speaker of Parliament Isa Aguila Saleh are participating in the presidential elections.