Saif Gaddafi to declare his presidential election program in Tunisia

CAIRO - 19 March 2018: Ayman Boras, the man in charge of the political reform program of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, will hold a press conference in Tunisia on Monday to declare Gaddafi’s presidential program, following the announcement of his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election.

News website, Arabesque, reported on Monday that Libyan human rights associations will participate in the press conference, during which Saif Gaddafi’s vision to tackle the Libyan crisis and implement a comprehensive national reconciliation for Libya will be discussed.

“Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former Libyan president, enjoys the support of major tribes in Libya, so he can run for the upcoming presidential election due in 2018,” said Libyan Tribal Chief and spokesperson of the Gaddafi family, Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul to Egypt Today.

“Saif al-Islam will run for the upcoming presidential election which may take place in mid-2018,” Soul revealed to Egypt Today in December.

Further to Soul’s comments, Libyan Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala stated at the Valdai Club panel discussion in Russia on Wednesday: “We believe that the presidential election will be held in the middle of 2018.”

Soul told Egypt Today that Saif al-Islam has already prepared his platform, which he intends to declare soon. “The platform includes some procedures that Saif al-Islam hopes the United Nations would adopt to help Libya move from the incumbent transitional period to stability.”

“Saif al-Islam plans to impose more security and stability, in accordance with the Libyan geography and in coordination with all Libyan factions,” Soul stated.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria convened in Tunisia on Saturday to resume discussions over the security and political developments of Libya. Libya has become the largest security threat facing the Egyptian state, along with Tunisia and Algeria. The frequent failures of international reconciliation attempts and the fall of weapons into the hands of different militant groups have forced Egypt to play a major role in seeking to solve the Libyan crisis.

Previously, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi met with Libya’s Chairman of the Presidential Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, to discuss the political accords necessary to preserve Libya’s unity and integrity.

The meeting was attended by high-profile leaders from both sides: Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Taher, Libyan Minister of Finance Osama Hammad, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Minister of Finance Amr el-Garhy, Egypt’s Intelligence Chief Khalid Fawzy, and the Egyptian Ambassador to Libya, Mohamed Abu Bakr

Egypt’s Presidential Spokesperson, Bassam Rady, said that Egypt welcomes the frequent meetings of the Libyan military commanders in Cairo; he also stressed that Egypt confronts foreign proposals aiming to intervene in Libya’s domestic affairs.

Sisi and Sarraj tackled means of cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism and furthering international endeavors for developing a comprehensive strategy against terrorism.

In December 2015, 22 Libyan parliamentarians signed the Skhirat Agreement in Morocco to end the civil war which erupted once again in Libya in 2014. The Skhirat Agreement was put into practice on April 6, 2016.

The Government of National Accord, led by Sarraj, was the first concrete outcome from the Skhirat Agreement. The first meeting of the cabinet of the Government of National Accord took place on January 2, 2016, in Tunisia.

Additionally report by Nawal Sayed