Algeria's Movement of Society for Peace decides not to nominate a candidate in presidential election

The Movement of Society for Peace (Algeria’s largest Islamist party) has decided not to nominate its head, Abderrazak Makri, as a candidate in the presidential election scheduled for 12 December.

The decision came after a secret vote of the movement’s Shura Council at the end of its meeting from Saturday night to Sunday.

According to a leader in the party, who spoke to Anadolu on condition of anonymity for personal reasons, the majority of council members voted for the option of not entering the presidential election with a candidate after hours of debate about the movement’s position on the ballot.

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According to the same source, the decision does not necessarily mean giving up this right, and the movement’s leadership will later announce how the part would deal with this political deadline.

The head of the movement Abderrazak Makri is scheduled to hold, on Sunday afternoon, a press conference to talk about the movement’s options in these elections, and whether the party’s decision means the opening of the door to supporting a consensus candidate for the opposition, according to several sources.

The movement had previously declared that elections are the best solution to get out of the current crisis in the country, but it had reservations on the election’s conditions such as those who constitute a continuation of symbolic figures of the regime of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.