Algeria braces for presidential elections on Sept 7

The Algerian presidency said presidential elections will be held on September 7, the second vote after the country’s 2019 pro-democracy Hirak that failed to remove the military junta.

Abdelmedjid Tebboune is expected to run for a second term. Though his candidacy has not been announced yet.

The election will take place at a context of dim economic prospects for the gas and oil dependent country that has deepened its regional isolation with tensions with almost all its African neighbors, save cash-strapped Libya.

Tebboune came to power as a civilian puppet of a military regime that strengthened its grip on power on the back of a Hirak movement that ironically demanded a clean break with the rule of the army.

Fearful of a new Hirak, Algeria took advantage of the Covid-19 era to crack down on civil liberties and adopted laws that criminalized political dissent, sending scores to jail for criticizing the government. The country went as far as banning pro-Palestinian marches to prevent protesters from taking aim at the regime.

Tebboune, if he decides to run for a second term, will have little to offer a disenchanted Algerian youth. His rule was marred with the resource curse, as Algeria continues to squander gas money on subsidies and arms, while shunning painful reforms that could diversify the economy.

As queues for basic products such as milk or grains become a new norm in the country, Tebboune has only been inaugurating Bouteflika’s projects, including the great mosque, since he took power.