Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah on Monday said he will run for president if the people of Libya want him to, reported CGTN Africa.
The statement comes a day after late dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, announced his candidacy for the upcoming polls in December.
Dbeibah has the responsibility to lead the country through the national and presidential elections in December until a winner is declared. He is barred from running in the election as per current Libyan election laws.
Under Libya’s elections laws, the interim prime minister will be free from his government duties more than three months before an election date. Furthermore, at the time when Dbeibah was appointed to the interim position, he had vowed that he would not run for office in the government that will succeed his government.
“It’s up to you. Do you want me to run in the elections, or do you not?” he asked a cheering crowd at the new National Youth Council rally in Tripoli on Monday.
Dbeibah has not yet announced his candidacy officially. He said he would announce his final decision on running for the president’s post at the appropriate moment. He also rejected electoral laws that were passed by the eastern-based House of Representatives last month, saying they are framed to suit only certain people.
The Libyan prime minister said the country wants a fair parliament that serves all Libyans, and fair election law. He stressed the need to hold elections based on constitutional base and laws agreed upon by all.
Powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar, Parliament Speaker Agila Saleh, and former Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga are widely expected to announce their bids for the country’s highest post.
Notably, the long-awaited Libyan presidential election still faces a lot of challenges, including some unresolved issues over laws governing the elections.
