Algeria's Chief of Staff: army leadership has no political ambitions

Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of Staff of the Algerian Army, said, Tuesday, that by establishing an independent authority to organise the elections demonstrated that the army has no political ambitions.

During a statement, General Salah declared that “the army leadership has no political ambition except to serve Algeria and its people. Our goodwill was further confirmed through the founding of the independent national authority organising the elections, which has already started the preparations for such an event.”

Salah speaking during his visit to the third military side of Bashar, saying that “unfortunately, yesterday and nowadays are quite similar, as a few betrayed the era of the honourable during the triumphant revolution. A few of this generation, assuming important responsibilities did not consider the rights of citizens. They deliberately conspired against the citizen with enemies to the point of betraying the homeland that he desperately needs.”

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“During the last seven months, the people demonstrated to express their legitimate demands peacefully had only the military establishment and its national leadership standing by them and maintaining the harmony of state institutions,” he added.

“We have noticed the intransigence of some parties and their insistence on raising some slanting slogans the National People’s Army did not pay any attention to and maintained strayed and firm positions.”

Last Saturday, the “Independent Electoral Authority” in Algeria announced that 20 candidates intend to run in the upcoming presidential elections.

Algeria’s interim president, Abdelkader Bensalah, set December 12 for the presidential elections after the two previous deadlines set on April 18 and July 4.