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Aguila Saleh has met the son of a former Libyan dictator and a controversial military commander to compete for the country’s top office.
The president of the eastern Libyan parliament has said he will run for president in next month’s elections.
Aguila Saleh’s announcement on Wednesday follows several other major Libyans, among others Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Son of a former Libyan dictator, and Khalifa Haftar, a powerful military commander. The two men are very divisive figures accused of war crimes.
In a video statement, Saleh said he would “turn the page on the conflict, look to the future” and seek to launch a process of national reconciliation, which is “the pillar of a stable nation”.
“Citizen voting is the only source of legitimacy for any authority,” the 77-year-old added.
A NATO-backed uprising in 2011 has led to serious chaos in Libya since the longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi was later assassinated.
The oil-rich nation has for years been divided between an eastern government, backed by the Haftars, and an administration approved by the United Nations in Tripoli, aided by Western-based Libyan militias.
Each side has also had the support of Turkish, Russian and Syrian mercenaries and various foreign forces and regional powers.
The December 24 presidential election is part of the United Nations’ commitment to end a decade of conflict.
But there are still conflicts over election rules, including who should be eligible, the calendar and the legal basis for the vote, and it raises doubts as to whether that will happen.
The only law issued for the election is the one passed by Saleh in September, and critics say it was made without a full vote or a proper quorum.
Critics said the key provisions are designed to leave Saleh and his eastern ally Haftar without the risk of losing positions if they do not win.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.
That vote created the House of Representatives, but it was challenged, and the legislature fled Tripoli to the eastern city of Tobruk after a court ruled it was no longer legal.
Saleh, who has headed the House of Representatives since 2014, was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union after refusing to recognize the UN-approved National Accord Government.
The sanctions were suspended earlier this year as the peace process unfolded, including the establishment of a new union government and the path to elections.
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