Haftar Announces His Candidacy For Libyan Presidential Elections
Haftar’s announcement comes two days after Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, announced his bid to run for president.
Libyan general Khalifa Haftar announced on Tuesday his candidacy for the presidential elections in Libya.
On the occasion of the announcement of his candidacy, Haftar said: "We salute the constructive initiatives presented by some countries to urge the holding of elections on the specified date, as it is the only way out of the crisis in Libya."
"We pledge to defend our well-established national principles, foremost of which is Libya's unity, independence and sovereignty," he added.
Haftar’s announcement comes two days after Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, registered his name as a candidate for the presidential elections despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court.
It is noteworthy that last Friday, the Paris International Conference on Libya was held in the presence of a number of leaders of countries and concerned parties in France.
The conference provided an outline to "help Libya restore stability", with the first stage represented by holding successful elections at the end of this year.
The Libyan elections will be held on December 24 through a road map backed by the United Nations.
These elections are supposed to turn the page on a decade of chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, and end divisions and conflicts between the two competing camps.