Benghazi | Eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar announced his candidacy for the presidential election scheduled for December 24 on Tuesday in a speech broadcast live on television.
“I declare my candidacy for the presidential election, not because I am running after power but to lead our people in this crucial period towards glory, progress and prosperity”, he declared in his speech. Benghazi, his stronghold.
The candidacy of Marshal Haftar, supported by key regional actors involved in the Libyan file such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, comes two days after that of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
On September 22, Marshal Haftar, 77, had provisionally retired from his post as head of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (ANL), as stipulated in the electoral law, in order to run for president.
The electoral law in question, criticized by detractors of Marshal Haftar, allows him to run for president and to be able to regain his military post if he is not elected.
The soldier, accused by his opponents of wanting to establish a military dictatorship, seeks to conquer power through the ballot box after the resounding failure of his military adventure at the gates of Tripoli, the seat of government recognized by the UN, in 2019.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, Libya has been plagued by bloody violence and struggles between rival powers in the east and west of the country.
In his speech on Tuesday, Haftar said the December election was “the only way to get Libya out of chaos”.
After his speech, he had to go to an office of the Election Authority to formally submit his candidacy.
