• A family spokesperson has revealed that the late Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will announce plans to contest for president during next year's presidential elections in Libya.

    Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is the second son of the late leader was freed from detention earlier this year, and that is when he made his intentions for a political comeback unequivocal. He had been in detention since 2011 for his role in suppressing the revolution against his father.

    Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul told the influential local media agency, Egypt Today, that Saif al-Islam has the support and credentials required to end the chaos that has gripped Libya since the overthrow of his father Muammar Gadaffi in 2011.

    “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 elections due in 2018,” said Libyan Tribal Chief and spokesperson of the Gaddafi family, Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul.

    There are some loyalists who believe that al-Islam is a key figure who could be central in the reconciliation of the country's rival factions. He believes he can set out new procedures and that the UN will back him.

    Saif was initially convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death in 2015 whilst in detention but was released from prison in June six years after an uprising in 2011 that ousted and killed his father.

    Libya last held elections in 2014 but these were fiercely disputed and further deepened the divisions that existed in the country. Ever since Gaddafi was toppled, Libya has been plunged into untold turmoil and has had much of its infrastructure destroyed.

    Presidential elections are expected to be held in mid-2018 with both Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj and military strongman Khalifa Haftar likely to take part.

    The United Nations is supporting the voter registration process as it seeks to reconcile rival factions and relaunch a political transition that would lead to new polls.