TRIPOLI, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of Libya's Presidential Council Mohammed al-Menfi said that the killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, represents a blow to national reconciliation.

Al-Menfi made the remarks during a podcast interview broadcast on Tuesday, stressing that excluding Saif al-Islam Gaddafi from the electoral process undermines efforts aimed at achieving stability in the country.

He said Libyans have accepted elections as the path to resolving the crisis and that any exclusion from this process would not help consolidate the democratic track.

Reiterating his condemnation of the incident, al-Menfi said he is in contact with the Office of the Attorney General, the interior minister of the Government of National Unity, and local officials to follow up on the details of the case. He urged all political forces to await the official results of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said Tuesday that the government is handling the investigation into the killing responsibly.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was killed in the western Libyan city of Zintan on Feb. 3. His political team said he was assassinated by four armed men who stormed his residence.

In November 2021, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi made his first public appearance in years, filing for candidacy in the Libyan presidential election, but was later rejected by the Libyan High National Elections Commission.

The High National Elections Commission announced late last year that it is prepared to hold the country's presidential elections in April 2026. ■