![Image of a voting booth in Algeria [Flickr]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017_4-11-algerian-election14028683573_bc30ab448c_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The Algerian authorities are reported to have denied potential candidates from running for the municipal elections, scheduled for 23 November, on suspicions of belonging to two separatist movements.
Media sources said the the local administrations in Tizi Ouzou, Bejaia and Ghardaia have removed the candidates believed to belong to the movement for the independence of the Kabylie region (MAK), led by Ferhat Mhenni who lives in exile in France and the movement for the autonomy in Ghardaia province led by Fekhar Kamal.
In the Kabylie region, the local administration is reported to have rejected the nomination of about 30 people because they belong to MAK, which the regime views as threat to the country’s stability and security.
Read: Algeria’s largest Islamist party insists on taking part in elections