Libya: court excludes Haftar from presidential election

A Libyan court yesterday ruled that retired army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar must be excluded from the list of candidates for the country’s upcoming presidential election. According to Libya Al-Ahrar, the Zawiya Court of First Instance accepted an appeal lodged against Haftar’s candidacy.

The court decision revokes the decision of the High National Election Commission to accept Haftar’s application to run for president. The HNEC announced a primary list last week of 73 candidates for the presidential election and another list of 25 people who had been disqualified. The latter includes Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, because he was “convicted [in absentia] of committing war crimes in 2011.”

Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh is among the list of candidates standing for president.

Khalifa Haftar’s forces had been fighting against the former internationally-recognised Government of National Accord in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, supported by Arab and Western countries, as well as foreign mercenaries.

READ: Libya’s Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi accuses military force of obstructing his electoral appeal