Libya election panel rejects Gaddafi's son as presidential candidate

FILE PHOTO: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends a hearing behind bars in a courtroom in Zintan May 25, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's election commission said on Wednesday that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former ruler and a major candidate in December's planned presidential election, was ineligible to run, compounding the turmoil surrounding the vote.

Gaddafi was one of 25 candidates the commission disqualified in an initial decision pending an appeals process that will ultimately be decided by the judiciary. Some 98 Libyans registered as candidates.