{"id":1020801,"date":"2021-11-16T19:28:59","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T00:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1020801"},"modified":"2021-11-16T19:29:03","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T00:29:03","slug":"its-official-qaddafis-son-and-rogue-warlord-contest-libyan-presidential-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-official-qaddafis-son-and-rogue-warlord-contest-libyan-presidential-election\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Official: Qaddafi\u2019s Son and Rogue Warlord Contest Libyan Presidential Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fits-official-qaddafis-son-and-rogue-warlord-contest-libyan-presidential-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1020801&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\"><span>Libyan Gen. Khalifa Haftar announced on Tuesday that he is officially a candidate for the presidency of the government he tried to overthrow by force less than two years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Haftar became the second candidate to declare for the race after Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, son of slain dictator Muammar Qaddafi, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2021\/11\/15\/libya-flamboyant-qaddafi-son-announces-presidential-candidacy\/\"><span>threw his hat<\/span><\/a><span> (or rather, his turban) into the ring Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Like Qaddafi, Haftar has been working on a political comeback for the past few months. In September, he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/national-security\/2021\/09\/10\/libyan-warlord-haftar-hires-former-clinton-aide-as-lobbyist\/\"><span>hired<\/span><\/a><span> some high-powered Washington lobbyists, including Lanny Davis, formerly a senior aide to President Bill Clinton.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18762570\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" readability=\"41\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AP21318422987545.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18762570\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AP21318422987545.png\" alt=\"Seif al-Islam, left, the son and one-time heir apparent of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi registers his candidacy for the country\u2019s presidential elections next month, in Sabha, Libya, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. Al-Islam, who was seen as the reformist face of Gadhafi&#039;s regime before the 2011 uprising, was released in June 2017 after more than five years of detention. (Libyan High National Elections Commission via AP)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Seif al-Islam, left, the son and one-time heir apparent of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi registers his candidacy for the country\u2019s presidential elections next month, in Sabha, Libya, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. (Libyan High National Elections Commission via AP)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Haftar ostensibly hired these lobbyists to help him express his \u201csupport of free and fair U.N.-supervised elections\u201d to create a \u201cpeaceful, stable, unified, democratic Libya under the rule of law.\u201d Observers of the Libyan political scene widely assumed Haftar was laying the groundwork for running in those elections himself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In April 2019, Haftar <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2020\/2\/19\/timeline-haftars-months-long-offensive-to-seize-tripoli\"><span>rolled up<\/span><\/a><span> to the gates of Tripoli with his Libyan National Army (LNA) and substantial Russian <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/russia-reinforces-foothold-in-libya-as-militia-leader-retreats-11593453304\"><span>military support<\/span><\/a><span>, launching a siege that lasted until June 2020, when the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/africa\/2020\/06\/05\/libya-un-backed-government-forces-claim-victory-siege-tripoli\/\"><span>drove his forces back<\/span><\/a><span> with assistance from Turkey. The GNA <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/jun\/04\/un-backed-libyan-forces-oust-renegade-general-from-tripoli\"><span>celebrated<\/span><\/a><span> his defeat as \u201cthe beginning of the end of the entire dictatorship project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>Haftar, who holds U.S. dual citizenship and lived near CIA headquarters in Virginia for the better part of two decades, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreignbrief.com\/daily-news\/libyan-warlord-khalifa-haftar-due-to-respond-to-us-court-allegations-of-war-crimes\/\"><span>faces<\/span><\/a><span> several lawsuits in U.S. courts for war crimes, including extrajudicial killings and torture. Haftar\u2019s representatives deny these charges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 77-year-old Libyan general was a longtime ally of Muammar Qaddafi, but they had a severe falling-out in the 1980s. Haftar returned to Libya from the United States with ambitions to overthrow Qaddafi during the \u201cArab Spring\u201d uprisings of 2011.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"7.3410138248848\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Analysts and citizens warn Libya faces a return to chaos and war as Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Khalifa Haftar seek to run for president \ud83d\udc47 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uAVHZPPfPQ\">https:\/\/t.co\/uAVHZPPfPQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AJEnglish\/status\/1460604819140272133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 16, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>Qaddafi was eventually overthrown and killed, but not by Haftar, who instead cast his lot with an alternative government in eastern Libya called the House of Representatives (HOR). He took command of the HOR\u2019s military force, the Libyan National Army, and attracted some international support by winning victories against jihadists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Haftar <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/africa\/20211116-libyan-strongman-haftar-announces-presidential-election-bid\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> on Tuesday that Libya remains a divided nation. He pledged to \u201cbegin the path of reconciliation, peace, and construction\u201d if he wins the election, currently scheduled for December 24.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cI declare my candidacy for the presidential election, not because I am chasing power but because I want to lead our people towards glory, progress and prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Haftar\u2019s critics say there will be no way to ensure a free and fair vote in territory controlled by the LNA, and they accuse him of plotting to impose a military dictatorship if he should win office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Al Jazeera News<\/span><span> handicapped the developing presidential race Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2021\/11\/16\/farcical-libyans-denounce-candidacy-of-gaddafis-son-in-vote\">noting<\/a> that Seif al-Islam Qaddafi evoked \u201cdisconcerting\u201d memories of his father\u2019s dictatorship by declaring his candidacy \u2013 and including some hostile language about \u201cunbelievers\u201d in his announcement that suggest he does not plan for an inclusive presidency \u2013 while the memories of Haftar\u2019s attack on Tripoli will probably conjure hard feelings in every town he overran along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Al Jazeera quoted analysts who noted Qaddafi will probably receive support from the southern Libyan tribes who backed his father, but this will only further alienate him from voters in Tripoli and other cities.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There have already been street protests against both Qaddafi and Haftar\u2019s presidential candidacies, both have been denounced by civil society groups, and Libyan military prosecutor Mohammed Gharouda asked the national election commission to suspend both of their candidacies until they answer their respective charges of crimes against humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Anas Gomati of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute complained that eastern politicians distorted election law so Haftar could run, which inadvertently created the opening for Qaddafi to register as well.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Gomati thought little better of a third prospective candidate, Interim Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, whose legal eligibility to run for president is disputed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe three candidates \u2013 Seif al-Islam, Haftar, Dbeibah \u2013 are not revolutionary, nor democratic figures. They are populists at best, demagogues at worst,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cRather than focus on the December date for elections, shouldn\u2019t there be much bigger attention to first ensuring that elections can be conducted in a free and fair way based on rule of law, justice, and accountability so Libyans have an actual chance to move past this violent phase?\u201d suggested Hanan Salah of Human Rights Watch.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Libyan Gen. Khalifa Haftar announced on Tuesday that he is officially a candidate for the presidency of the government he tried to overthrow by force less than two years ago. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1020801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1020801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1020801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1020801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1020801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1020801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}