Three rejected presidential candidates were placed under "judicial supervision" by a court in Algiers, while another 68 people, including elected officials, were temporarily detained as part of an investigation into electoral fraud. Only three presidential candidates made it to compete in the September election.
The arrested people are suspected of being involved in "signature sales" for the upcoming presidential election set for 7 September.
The three candidates placed under judicial supervision were named as businesswoman Saida Neghza, former minister Belkacem Sahli, and a relatively unknown hopeful named Abdelhakim Hamadi.
While they are not under arrest, they will be required to regularly check in with the authorities until after the investigation is concluded.
'Hardship'
Candidates in Algeria are required to gather large numbers of signatures to be eligible to stand.
"Sixty-eight defendants were placed in temporary detention, three were placed under judicial supervision, and six were released after hearings," the court said in a statement.
Last week, the attorney general at the Court of Algiers, Lotfi Boudjemaa, told state news agency APS that "more than 50 elected officials" admitted to having unlawfully received money to endorse presidential candidates.
He added those involved in the fraud "will be arrested".
To qualify to appear on the ballot candidates are required to present a list of at least 50,000 individual signatures from registered voters or from 600 members from at least 29 of Algeria's provincial assemblies.
In a press conference before officially submitting her candidacy last month, Neghza complained of "hardships" in the process of registering and getting the signatures.
She said she hoped that "the electoral process takes place in a climate of transparency and integrity, without any favouritism".
Prominent opposition figure Louisa Hanoune, leader of the Workers' Party, also withdrew her candidacy in July, citing "unfair conditions". Her party will boycott the vote entirely.
Algerian opposition denounces 'unfair conditions' in upcoming election
Three candidates
Only three hopefuls, including incumbent president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, had their candidacies approved for the 7 September election.
The two others are Abdelaali Hassani of the moderate Islamist party the Movement of Society for Peace and Youssef Aouchiche of the centre-left Socialist Forces Front (FFS).
The other 13 hopefuls all had their candidacies rejected after failing to muster the required number of signatures of support.
The increase in arrests looks like an attempt at "neutralising the opposition", as Emmanuel Alcaraz, associate professor of history and researcher on Algeria at the Mesopolhis research laboratory in Aix-en-Provence, told RFI.
"It weaponises justice to get rid of opponents," he added, "in a political system which is very closed, in Algeria, where the army has the power and where you have a civilian facade."
President of Algeria since December 2019, Tebboune took over the power from former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and former acting head of state Abdelkader Bensalah. He then took 58 percent of a turnout of less than 40 percent.
The previous year had been marked by protests, called Revolution of Smiles or Hirak, which had begun on 16 February 2019, and had led to Bouteflika's resignation on 2 April 2019.
(with AFP)
