23,500 Algerians compete for 407 parliamentary seats

More than 23,500 candidates are expected to compete in the parliamentary elections scheduled for 12 June, according to the National Independent Authority for Elections in Algeria (ANIE).

Mohamed Sharfi, head of the ANIE, said in a press conference after the legal deadlines for candidacy expired at dawn yesterday, that the total number of electoral lists reached 2,292, of which 1,179 lists belong to political parties and the remaining 1,133 lists are registered by independent candidates, making the total number of competing candidates 23,540.

Sharfi stated that 19 parties have met the requirements to participate in the elections.

The official rejected the presence of foreign observers during the upcoming elections saying: “I met ambassadors of foreign countries during the last presidential elections and asked them whether they would accept having foreigners monitoring their elections.”

“We live in a sovereign country, and as for people who are talking about bringing foreign observers, they should rather perform the task themselves, make sure to be present in the election centres and protect their rights.”

Candidates are competing for 407 seats in the National People’s Assembly.

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Each of the 58 governorates in Algeria counts as a single electoral district that grants a number of seats in proportion to its population density, with one parliamentary seat allocated to each quota of 120,000 people.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune issued a decree to dissolve the National People’s Assembly in early March and called for holding early legislative elections.

The upcoming elections will be held under new electoral regulations following the amendment of the election law, as all MPs who have served two parliamentary terms are not allowed to run for a third term.

Additionally, voters will be allowed to choose their preferred candidates within an electoral list.

More than 50 parties announced their participation in the June legislative elections, with the exception of the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), the Workers’ Party, and the Rally for Culture and Democracy who claimed that the elections lack the favourable conditions needed for them to be held adequately.