Algeria’s Independent National Electoral Authority has announced that the campaign for the upcoming presidential elections will commence on August 15.
The authority emphasized a set of rules that candidates must follow regarding the financing of their campaigns and other imposed obligations.
According to a statement issued by the authority on Thursday evening, August 1, candidates are reminded that by Law No. 21 – 01, dated March 10, 2021, concerning the electoral system, and in anticipation of the presidential elections scheduled for September 7, 2024, the campaign will start on August 15, 2024.
The rules are designed to ensure the legality and transparency of elections campaign financing, facilitate the inspection and monitoring of expenditures, and provide effective oversight.
The statement detailed the legal rules and controls that candidates are required to adhere to.
Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who has faced criticism for cracking down on dissent since mass protests in 2019, is set to face two challengers in the upcoming elections on September 7.
The two candidates who have qualified to challenge Tebboune are Abdelaali Hassani from the moderate Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace, and Youssef Aouchiche from the center-left Socialist Forces Front.
Meanwhile, Algeria’s Attorney General, Lotfi Boujemaa, has announced the initiation of a thorough preliminary investigation into allegations that some presidential candidates have been purchasing endorsements from elected officials.
In a press statement, Boujemaa explained that “based on confirmed data and information indicating that certain individuals aspiring to run in the upcoming presidential elections have engaged in buying signatures from elected officials in exchange for endorsements,” the prosecution has ordered a comprehensive preliminary inquiry into the matter.
He added that over 50 elected officials who admitted to receiving financial compensation for their endorsements have been interrogated.
