Just two women among 98 candidates in Libyan presidential election

Libya’s electoral commission said Tuesday that 98 candidates, including two women, had registered to run in a presidential election scheduled for December 24.

“The candidate registration platform has received the papers of 98 candidates who met the conditions,” the head of the electoral commission, Imad Al-Sayeh, told a Tripoli press conference.

Among the most notable hopefuls are Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, and Khalifa Haftar.

Also in the running are former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

Only two women have stepped forward as candidates: Laila Ben Khalifa, 46, the president and founder of the National Movement party, and Hunayda Al-Mahdi, a researcher in the social sciences.

The final candidates list will be published within 12 days, once verifications and appeals are completed, said Sayeh, a day after the deadline for submitting applications.

The commission “will pass on the papers to the prosecutor general, the department of passports and nationality and to the General Intelligence” to ensure candidates comply with the electoral law.