Algeria: 22 candidates apply for December 12 elections

Twenty two candidates, including two former Prime Ministers, have applied for the December presidential elections, state-run news agency APS said Sunday, after deadline for bids submission ended Saturday.

The election authority, according to the agency, has 7 days to validate the various candidacies that include Ali Benflis and Abdelmadjid Tebboune, two former premiers under Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The Algerian regime, backed by the army, has set December 12 for the presidential elections after July 4 elections planned to elect a new leader to replace interim president Abdelkader Bensalah were scrapped over lack of candidates.

The North African country has been embroiled in political turmoil since February with weekly demonstrations demanding political reforms and a complete overhaul of the regime.

Bouteflika’s resignation early April and the arrest of several top figures including senior officials, business tycoons, military and security personalities have not abated the demonstrations.

Benflis, 75, was Prime Minister from 2000 to 2003. He ran for two presidential elections against his former boss, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in 2004 and 2004.

Tebboune, 73, a key figure in Bouteflika’s entourage is believed by many as the candidate of the army Chief Gaid Salah. The former communication minister was appointed Prime Minister in May 2017 but sacked three months into the job over internal conflict in the government.

Both candidates are touted as front runners as other political heavy weights have refrained from bidding and preferred to support the call for change.