Libya's parliament speaker announces run for president

Libya’s influential speaker of parliament has announced that he will be running for president, making him the latest candidate to join the race for the country’s highest office after years of war

BENGHAZI, Libya -- Libya’s influential speaker of parliament announced late Wednesday that he will be running for president, making him the latest candidate to join the race for the country’s highest office after years of civil war.

Aguila Saleh, 77, who has led the country’s House of Representatives since 2014, announced his candidacy in a video statement. The elections are supposed to be held Dec. 24, but face growing uncertainty after two controversial candidates declared they are running. In the past week, a son of the country’s late dictator Moammar Gadhafi and powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter have submitted their bids to run.

Saleh has been a fixture on Libya’s political scene in recent years. The body he heads came to power through elections in 2014 that ended up being contested. In the aftermath, the country split further into territories with rival authorities, and the lawmaking body fled from the capital of Tripoli to the eastern city of Tobruk after a court ruled it was no longer legitimate.

“We are working to overcome the past, and close the chapter of conflict, and to embark on the future,” Saleh, a former judge, said in Wednesday's video statement.