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Son of former Libyan ruler Gaddafi runs for president
The December 24 vote remains in doubt as rival entities bicker over the rules and schedule
The son of Libya's late dictator Muammar Gaddafi registered as a presidential candidate for a December vote, one of his first appearances in a decade.
“Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi submitted… his candidacy for the presidential election to the High National Electoral Commission office in the [southern] city of Sebha,” a statement by the commission said on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.
Al-Gaddafi, 49, appeared in an electoral commission video in traditional brown robe and turban, and with a grey beard and glasses, signing documents at the election center in the southern town of Sebha.
He recited a verse from the Koran and thanked those assisting him, saying, "God bless you," video footage showed.
His formal entry into an election whose rules are still contested by Libya's squabbling factions may also cast new questions over a contest that features candidates viewed in some regions as unacceptable.
Despite the public backing of most Libyan factions and foreign powers for elections on December 24, the vote remains in doubt as rival entities bicker over the rules and schedule.
A major conference in Paris on Friday agreed to sanction any who disrupt or prevent the vote, but with less than six weeks to go, there is still no agreement on rules to govern who should be able to run.
Muammar al-Gaddafi was captured outside Sirte by opposition fighters in October 2011 and summarily executed. Saif al-Islam was seized days later by fighters from Zintan as he tried to flee Libya for Niger. He was sentenced to death, but released six years later.