( 3minutes read)
· Political campaigns for Algeria’s coming legislative elections ended on Tuesday as the country is gearing up for the June 12 elections to elect members of parliament
· Some 24 million voters will elect 407 new law makers this Saturday, when the country goes to the polls
· More than 13,000 candidates are in the fray. Many of them do not have any party affiliations and contesting as independent candidates
Political campaigns for Algeria’s coming legislative elections ended on Tuesday as the country is gearing up for the June 12 elections to elect members of parliament.
Some 24 million voters will elect 407 new law makers this Saturday, when the country goes to the polls. More than 13,000 candidates are in the fray. Many of them do not have any party affiliations and are contesting as independent candidates.
The main issue at stake is voter turnout. A part of Algeria’s opposition has called for boycotting the elections alleging that the results will be manipulated to the advantage of the current dispensation. The elections were initially slated to be held in 2022. The mass protests orchestrated by Hirak, a movement to restore democracy in the country, forced President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to pre-pone the poll.
Many prominent figures among the Hirak calling for the vote to be boycotted, it is doubtful whether the election would bring about a material difference in the composition of the government and its working. Lists of independents featuring civil society activists,
academics and professionals have emerged, offering varying alternatives to the status quo.
