Political challengers in Algeria are sounding the alarm over a presidential election scheduled for 7 September, which will see incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune seek a second term in office. It comes five years after he was elected in a vote widely rejected by the opposition.
Prominent opposition figure Louisa Hanoune, the leader of the Workers' Party, this week withdrew her candidacy, citing "unfair conditions". Her party will boycott the vote entirely.
Hanoune, who entered the race two months ago, denounced what she alleged were attempts to exclude her party from the race and prevent voters from choosing freely between parties.
In a press release, she stressed that democracy depends on respecting fundamental freedoms that allow people to voice their will.
Hanoune, 70, stood in three presidential elections between 2004 and 2014.
During 2019 protests that culminated in President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's resignation, she was imprisoned on charges of conspiracy against the state and military.
After spending approximately 10 months in detention, she was acquitted and released in May 2020.
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Lack of strong opponents
President Tebboune, 79, announced his bid for re-election in a television interview last week.
Several other challengers have declared their intention to run in the September poll, which Tebboune called three months ahead of schedule.
The official list of approved candidates is expected on 27 July, following a vetting process by the electoral commission.
"No other personality has emerged" as a strong contender, according to Hasni Abidi, a political scientist and director of the Centre for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World.
While the president lacks a clear political agenda, "the state is governed in a collegial manner, which favours his re-election", Abidi told RFI.
Algeria's complex political dynamics mean that the influence of the military and entrenched elites often plays a significant role in shaping electoral outcomes.
The last presidential elections in 2019 were widely boycotted. With all five candidates linked to Bouteflika, the opposition objected that the new poll would not rid the country of its old political elite.
Tebboune, a former prime minister under Bouteflika, took over after winning 58 percent of the vote – though low turnout meant that translated to just 20 percent of Algeria's registered voters.
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