Algeria invites observers to monitor upcoming presidential elections

Algerian protesters are pictured during clashes with the police during a demonstration against Algeria’s president’s candidacy for a fifth term, on February 22, 2019 in the capital Algiers. [RYAD KRAMDI/AFP/Getty Images]

Algeria has invited regional and international organisations to send observers to monitor the presidential elections scheduled for 18 April, a government official said.

“International observers will monitor the presidential elections. Several international organisations have been invited to send their missions and the foreign ministry is currently working with foreign partners,” Abdel Rahman Sidini, director of freedoms at the Interior Ministry, said in an interview with the Algerian state radio.

Algerian authorities have been inviting international observers to monitor the country’s electoral processes since the 2012 parliamentary elections as “additional guarantees” of the elections’ transparency.

Algeria: Bouteflika, a ghost-candidate in a presidential race

Earlier this month, President AbdelAziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections, pledging to hold a conference to agree on “deep reforms” if he wins.

Since Bouteflika’s announcement, the country has witnessed popular protests and calls for Bouteflika not to run for a fifth term.

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.