Libya's electoral commission on Wednesday announced its rejection of the candidacy of Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, a son of slain ruler Moammar Gaddafi, to run in next month's presidential election.
Wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, Saif al-Islam, who registered to run on November 14, was among 25 candidates whose bids have been rejected, the HNEC commission said in a statement.
It said it rejected the 25 on legal grounds as well as based on information from officials including the public prosecutor, a police chief and the head of the passports and citizenship department.
In a surprise announcement, Saif al-Islam, whose whereabouts had been kept secret for several months, became the first heavyweight candidate to sign up for the election race.
He had been sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in 2017 for crimes committed during the revolt that toppled his father. He was later pardoned by a rival administration in eastern Libya.
In July, he emerged from years in the shadows and told The New York Times he was planning a political comeback.
In a rare interview, Saif al-Islam said he wanted to "restore the lost unity" of Libya after a decade of chaos.
Libya's electoral commission said Tuesday that a total of 98 candidates, including two women, had registered to run in the presidential election scheduled for December 24.
The polls come as Libya seeks to turn a page on a decade of violence that has rocked the oil-rich nation since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed Gaddafi in 2011.
