Yahoo TV

The son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi made a rare appearance in public on Sunday to run for president.

Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, appeared in an electoral commission video to sign documents at the election center in the southern town of Sebha.

He is one of the most prominent - and controversial - figures expected to run for president in the vote next month.

The vote was planned to help end years of chaos since a NATO-backed uprising destroyed the Gaddafi regime.

Saif al-Islam has not barely been seen for a decade.

The only public sight of him in Libya since he was captured during the fighting in 2011 was when he appeared via videolink before a Tripoli court that sentenced him to death for war crimes.

Despite the ruling, he never left the mountainous Zintan region and his captors allowed him to walk free.

The Gaddafi era is still remembered by many Libyans as one of harsh autocracy, although he has support in former Gaddafi strongholds, analysts say Saif al Islam may not prove to be a front runner.

With less than six weeks to go - the rules in the election are still being contested, Gaddafi's formal registration may also cast new questions over the election.