A Libyan warlord who led a 14-month assault on the capital and once said the country was not ready for democracy has announced his candidacy in its first presidential elections at the end of next month
Khalifa Haftar, the head of the self-styled Libyan National Army, which fought against its internationally recognised government in the 2014-20 civil war, declared he wanted to bring the Libyan people “glory, progress and prosperity” as he joined a contest that also includes the son of Libya’s former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, among its hopefuls.
Haftar’s support base lies in the east of the country and, if elected, it is unlikely he would be accepted by militias in its west who fought for more than a year to prevent him from seizing Tripoli.
Members of the LNA allegedly under his command have been indicted for war crimes by the international criminal court and he is also facing a hearing in a court in Virginia brought by relatives of his alleged victims who claim he is guilty of war crimes, including starvation of families. Haftar, an American citizen, is insisting he is not liable.
He has been credited at various times with the support of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and has been opposed by Turkey, who backed militias defending Tripoli with fighters and arms.
Haftar announced his candidacy via a televised address from the eastern city of Benghazi, dressed in a suit and tie rather than military fatigues and projecting himself as an anti-corruption champion.
“We’ll change Libya’s future if we place its treasures and riches in the hands of those with integrity,” he said.
“I 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.”
The 77-year-old, who said elections were the only way out of Libya’s chaos, said in an interview with Jeune Afrique published in February 2018 that Libya was not yet ripe for democracy, raising doubts about how long Libya would remain a democracy if he won.
His chances of winning, assuming the elections occur, have been hit by the decision of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi to announce on Sunday that he was standing, since both men will be hoping in the east to draw from the same pool of voters. Another figure based in the east, the speaker of the parliament, Aguila Saleh, is also standing.
Haftar’s candidature, with 40 days to nominal polling day, underlines the chaos that surrounds the elections, with disputes raging over the qualifications of those seeking to stand, the constitutional powers of the president and whether free elections are feasible in a country in which as many as 20,000 foreign forces including mercenaries are on the loose. There are already reports of campaign teams being set up by mercenaries in the east.
But the international community recommitted themselves to elections last Friday, and it will probably be down to the US to decide whether the elections will heal Libya’s rifts or exacerbate them. As many as 600 people have applied to stand in the parliamentary elections, and their credentials are now being checked.
Such is the chaos over the rules that the national electoral commission on its website appeared to announce that Gaddafi’s application to stand had been rejected, only for the post to be deleted moments later. The commission blamed hacking.
The performance of the UN Special Mission in Libya has been widely criticised in recent months for failing to show leadership, placing huge pressure on the administration of Libya’s electoral commission, a largely administrative body, to take charge of a politically fraught contest.
