On 11 June 2021, The Times spoke exclusively with political representatives of Gaddafi, who revealed that he was planning to make a return to public life, including possibly running for president, and had been courting foreign diplomats to re-establish his viability. A direct phone call between The Times reporters and Gaddafi was subsequently arranged, where he confirmed his identity and his relationship with the group of aides The Times had been speaking with. He also stated that he was in good health.
In a July 2021 interview with The New York Times, his first interview with western media in ten years, Gaddafi attacked Libyan politicians for their governance since the 2011 First Libyan Civil War, describing them as having "raped the country". Gaddafi hinted that he was running for president. Commenting on his years-long absence from public life, he said "You need to come back slowly, slowly. Like a striptease. You need to play with their minds a little." The July 2021 New York Times interview included topics related to Gaddafi's political thinking and past actions. Gaddafi defended his father's legacy. Gaddafi said of his father's Green Book; "It was not crazy, it talked about things everybody is now recognizing." He said that many "ideas gaining popularity in the West, such as frequent public referendums, employee stock-ownership programs and the dangers of boxing and wrestling", echoed the words of his father's book. His interview was given to the New York Times at an opulent two-story villa inside a gated compound in Zintan. According to The New York Times, Gaddafi reluctantly agreed to be photographed for the interview, but insisted on covering part of his face with a scarf. Until the interview, Gaddafi had not been seen since June 2014, when he appeared via video link from Zintan during his trial by the Tripoli court.
Some Libyans questioned the authenticity of photographs taken by The New York Times. Ashraf Boudwara, head of the Preparatory Committee for the National Conference, claimed the photos were of Gaddafi's brother Saadi Gaddafi. Meanwhile, Gaddafi loyalists celebrated Gaddafi's return. Saad al-Senussi al-Barasi, a leader in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya, called the skeptics of the photographs, "the enemies of the nation and those who cling to power."
In October 2021, the Israel Hayom reported that a female model representing Gaddafi signed a contract with an Israeli consulting firm to run his presidential campaign.
On 14 November 2021, making his first public appearance since June 2014, Gaddafi confirmed his intention to run for the presidency of Libya, registering his nomination in the southern city of Sebha. On 16 November, Libya's High National Election Commission rejected Gaddafi's candidacy on grounds that under Libyan law, his criminal convictions disqualified him from holding a political office. On 25 November, gunmen aligned with Khalifa Haftar, under Haftar's sons' command, stormed the courthouse of Sabha and threatened judges and staffers to prevent them from ruling on Gaddafi's appeal. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed concerns over the forced closure of the Sabha court and warned that sanctions could be levied against parties responsible. On 28 November, Gaddafi stated to Al Arabiya that Libyan judicial authorities refused to hold hearings on his disqualification appeal.
On 2 December 2021, a Libyan court ruled that Gaddafi be reinstated as a presidential candidate. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that Gaddafi had secretly visited Egypt and met with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Egyptian Chief of Intelligence Abbas Kamel before his reinstatement.
On 29 January 2022, through a statement published by his lawyer Khalid al-Zaidi, Gaddafi proposed an initiative to resolve the political crisis that began after presidential elections scheduled for December 2021 were delayed. The initiative proposed postponing presidential elections and proceeding with parliamentary elections without delay.
On 6 July 2022, Gaddafi presented two separate proposals to resolve the ongoing Libyan crisis through a written statement disseminated by his lawyer Khalid al-Zaidi. In the first proposal, Gaddafi argued for the appointment of a neutral party to oversee urgent, non-exclusive presidential and parliamentary elections in which everyone would be allowed to participate. In the second proposal, Gaddafi recommended that all current political figures, including himself, should collectively withdraw from the electoral process in order to make way for new faces chosen by the Libyan people through transparent elections.
In August 2022, Gaddafi, through his lawyer Khaled al-Zaidi, denied a report from Jeune Afrique that he had made a deal with Lebanon to secure his brother Hannibal's release.
In December 2022, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh called for Gaddafi to surrender himself to the ICC. In January 2023, Gaddafi's political team reiterated his legal right to run for political office despite the ICC arrest warrant.
In July 2023, Gaddafi called for Lebanon to release his brother Hannibal from detention, describing Hannibal's incarceration as "illegal and inhumane" and "without trial and without just cause."
In September 2023, Gaddafi blamed the 2011 Libyan civil war which deposed his father and the instability which followed the conflict for the Derna dam collapses. He called the country's rival governments "sham governments" and accused the Derna security forces and the forces of Khalifa Haftar of making the situation worse by imposing a curfew on the city rather than evacuating it.
