Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has signed a presidential decree calling for early presidential elections on Saturday, September 7. The decree also includes commencing an exceptional review of the electoral rolls starting next Wednesday, ending on Thursday, June 27.
The Algerian presidential elections of 2024 have ignited the political scene in Algeria, with many names, including three women, announcing their intention to run for this important event in the country’s history, given the significant challenges it faces.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed that the decision to hold early presidential elections – three months earlier than scheduled – was due to “purely technical reasons,” refusing to declare whether he would run for a second term. Tebboune stated that the postponement was due to “purely technical reasons and does not affect the conduct of the elections.” He added, „the basic logic behind this change is that December is not the real date for the elections. We know that after the resignation of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President of the Council of the Nation assumed the presidency, and a date for the elections was set, but unfortunately, they did not take place,” referring to the postponement of the elections from April 2019 to December 2019 during the popular movement that led to the former president’s resignation. The Algerian president ruled out “any crisis at the highest level of authority” regarding his stay or departure, refusing to comment on the possibility of his candidacy for a second term, stating, „the time has not yet come.”
Experts raised several questions to understand the decision announced by the presidency to bring forward the date of the elections. Some believed that Tebboune used his “constitutional powers stipulated in Article 91 of the constitution,” as shortening the term of “presidency” is unrelated to what is stated in Articles 94 and 95 of the constitution, regulating resignation cases, and the occurrence of an obstacle hindering the president from performing his duties. This suggests the possibility that the president may be suffering from an illness preventing him from completing his term. Tebboune had contracted COVID-19 in 2020 and spent several weeks in a clinic in Germany for treatment. Some also speculated that the first thing that comes to the minds of the Algerian people regarding Tebboune’s decision to advance the date of the elections is that it came as a form of resignation, indicating a desire to withdraw before the scheduled date for urgent reasons, which may be health-related or political. They anticipated a severe crisis in the power hierarchy, making them believe that his continued tenure in office was no longer feasible in his view, otherwise why calling for early elections just three months earlier if he is determined to continue?
A strong hypothesis circulating to explain the presidency’s decision suggests that Tebboune is expected in Paris for a state visit this fall, and his departure to the former colonial power three months before the elections will leave an impression domestically and internationally that he went to seek approval from it to run for another term. This assumption is based on the narrative that “France always has the upper hand in choosing who leads Algeria.” It’s noteworthy that no Algerian president has ever visited France on the eve of a presidential election he decided to contest, and it was unlikely that Tebboune would deviate from this norm, even if he didn’t explicitly announce a desire for a second term. The president had given strong indications of this by the end of last year, during a speech he delivered in parliament. Shortly afterward, the “Army Magazine” confirmed that the military leadership wanted him to continue in power, arguing that “the outcome of his achievements is positive” since he assumed power in the elections of December 12, 2019.
Politicians and party leaders in Algeria criticized the decision to hold elections three months earlier than scheduled. The opposition National Republican Alliance Party expressed its dismay at the lack of explanation for the motives behind this decision, emphasizing in a statement on Facebook the importance of accompanying it with maximum transparency to clarify it to the national public opinion. Some believe that this decision is related to technical implications regarding the previous elections held in 2019, which the authorities deemed inappropriate in terms of timing due to several technical considerations, “chief among them the timing of preparing the new general budget during this period and the health challenges related to seasonal diseases like COVID-19.”
Algeria’s opposition parties have suffered political marginalization over the past four years, according to the secretary-general of the opposition National Republican Alliance Party, leading to the formation of a party alliance in January last year consisting of seven small parties in an attempt to create a new balance of power against the current authority to promote openness and take a series of measures to improve the political climate. In a report published last February, Amnesty International stated that the Algerian authorities continued to “suppress the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly by targeting opposition voices” after five years of the democracy-demanding protest movement. In the legislative elections held in 2021, the National Liberation Front Party won the majority of seats in the Algerian parliament, securing 105 seats, while independent candidates came second with 78 seats.
Regarding the reaction of Islamist parties, the Algerian opposition Islamic Movement for Society called for “conditions for competition that ensure credibility” for the presidential elections scheduled for September 7. The leftist Workers’ Party stated that it refuses to “engage in mazes that promote doubt,” declaring its lack of understanding of the reasons behind advancing the electoral event date by 3 months. The movement “Society for Peace” published a statement on its social media account regarding an executive bureau meeting at its headquarters to discuss the decision announced by the presidency last Thursday to advance the scheduled electoral date, previously expected in December, according to the electoral calendar followed. The statement emphasized the Islamic movement’s “emphasis on the necessity of providing the necessary political conditions that achieve competitiveness, pluralism, and confer legitimacy and credibility (to the election), especially by opening up the political space, ensuring media freedoms, and the neutrality of the administration and various state institutions during all stages of the electoral process. And restoring citizens’ confidence in electoral events.” The movement demanded a “review of the electoral law and improvement of the legal environment regulating the electoral process as an essential guarantee for the success of the elections and the protection of popular will through a national dialogue taking into account the correction of legal and regulatory imbalances that affected previous elections,” without specifying exactly what is meant. It is understood from this that Islamists fear that the result will be predetermined in favor of a regime candidate, especially as the military has shown a clear intention to extend President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s term.
The Islamic movement did not mention whether it would participate in the elections or not, preferring to leave the final decision to the “Shura Council“. It is worth noting that its leadership had boycotted the 2019 event in line with the stance of the popular movement that rejected it. However, observers speculate about participation this time, led by the movement’s president, Abdelkader Hsan. For its part, the Workers’ Party, in a statement after its “political bureau” meeting, stated that President Tebboune’s decision to advance the election date “remains within the constitutional framework,” considering that the constitution allows the president to reconsider the dates of the electoral agenda without requiring him to state reasons. The party, led by Louisa Hanoune, stated that it “refuses to engage in any interpretation or enter into mazes that promote ambiguity and doubt.” The statement clarified that the party “cannot ignore an election date of such importance because it concerns the fate of the country, especially as it comes in a global context fraught with risks to nations and peoples, whose destructive ramifications have been confirmed in the Sahel region,” referring to Algeria being directly targeted in its stability because of Zionist schemes to tear apart the entire region.
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