TRIPOLI, Libya

Ninety-eight people have registered to run in Libya’s presidential elections, according to an election official told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

Abdul Hakim Balkhair, an official in the High National Elections Commission, said the number of those whose files were initially accepted to run for the polls reached 98 candidates.

Prominent among those who applied to run in the polls are transitional Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Salama Al-Ghweil.

Controversial figures as Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former strongman Muammar Gaddafi, and warlord Khalifa Haftar have also submitted their candidacy.

Libya’s presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place on Dec. 24 under a UN-sponsored agreement reached by Libyan political rivals during meetings in Tunisia on Nov. 15, 2020.

The application deadline for those wishing to run for the presidency was Nov. 22. Nomination for parliamentary polls is still open till Dec. 7.

Libyans hope that the upcoming elections will contribute to ending an armed conflict that has plagued the oil-rich country for years.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar