\n Libya's interim premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah registered his candidacy Sunday for next month's presidential election, joining a list that includes a son of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi and a military strongman.\n<\/p>\n
\n Libya's first ever direct presidential poll, due on December 24, comes as the UN seeks to end a decade of violence in the oil-rich nation since a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Kadhafi in 2011.\n<\/p>\n
\n Dbeibah signed documents at the HNEC electoral commission in the capital Tripoli, in footage broadcast live by state television, the day before the deadline for registration.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It is a historic and decisive day. I came for the homeland and the unity of the homeland,\" said Dbeibah, the 57th candidate to register for the vote.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"We have started this journey together, we will end it together,\" he added, promising \"no more wars\".\n<\/p>\n
\n A wealthy businessman from the western port city of Misrata, the 62-year-old political newcomer was designated as interim prime minister in February in a UN-led process, to steer the country to legislative and presidential elections.\n<\/p>\n
\n Libya's parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar and Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, son of Libya's late leader, have also signed up to run for the presidency.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'Psychological impact' -\n<\/p>\n
\n Both presidential and legislative polls had been slated for December 24, but in early October parliament split the dates of the vote by postponing legislative elections until January.\n<\/p>\n
\n The path to the ballot box has been lined with disputes over the constitutional basis for the polls and the powers to be given to whoever wins.\n<\/p>\n
\n In September, parliament speaker Saleh outraged opponents by ratifying a contentious electoral law criticised for bypassing due process and favouring a bid by Haftar.\n<\/p>\n
\n Later that month, parliament passed a no-confidence vote in Dbeibah's government.\n<\/p>\n
\n That move, said Claudia Gazzini, a Libya expert with the International Crisis Group, could work in Dbeibah's favour because he was not supposed to make a bid for the presidency.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"He had promised during negotiations with the UN that he would not be a candidate and the electoral law stipulates that candidates must not hold official posts three months before the vote,\" she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Based on certain legal interpretations, he has been (de facto) suspended from his post by the no-confidence vote,\" she added.\n<\/p>\n
\n On Saturday, Dbeibah denounced a \"tailor-made\" electoral law ratified by Saleh -- who like Haftar had quit his official post in September in order to vie for the presidency.\n<\/p>\n
\n Libya expert Jalel Harchaoui said Dbeibah's candidacy is bound to have a \"huge psychological impact on his opponents\".\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Their anger could play into his hands,\" if for example, \"his rivals had recourse to violence\" or if the electoral process collapses, he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n Seif al-Islam Kadhafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, while many in western Libya despise Khalifa Haftar after his year-long assault on Tripoli, accusing the military commander of seeking to establish a military dictatorship.\n<\/p>\n
\n Pro-Haftar forces remain in control of much of eastern and southern Libya, and some analysts have voiced scepticism over the chances of a free and fair election.\n<\/p>\n
\n Nearly three million Libyans -- out of a total population of some seven million people -- have so far registered to vote.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hundreds of Libyans protested in Tripoli on Friday against \"war criminals\" running in next month's presidential election.\n<\/p>\n
\n Demonstrators stamped on posters of Haftar and Seif al-Islam and voiced anger over the controversial electoral law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Libya's interim premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah registered his candidacy Sunday for next month's presidential election, joining a list that includes a son of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi and a military strongman. Libya's first ever direct presidential poll, due on December 24, comes as the UN seeks to end a decade of violence in the oil-rich nation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-84526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n