Five years after ascending to power as the military and establishment-backed candidate during widespread pro-democracy protests, Algeria’s president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, announced his intention to run for a second term in office.
The 78-year-old political veteran said in an interview to be broadcast on Algerian television that his decision came in response to support from political parties and young people.
“If the Algerian people want to vote for me, that’s fine, otherwise I’ll have accomplished my mission and whoever succeeds me will be welcome,” he said, lauding his record as well as the gas-rich North African country’s security and stability.
Tebboune has avoided declaring his intentions even after the Sept. 7 election date was set almost four months ago.
Despite his demurrals, his intentions were “an open secret” and his candidacy a byproduct of discussions among the political elite, says political scientist Rachid Grime.
Besides Tebboune, 34 candidates have announced plans to run in the election.
However, only three so far have gathered the number of signatures necessary to appear on the ballot: Youcef Aouchiche of the Socialist Forces Front, Algeria’s largest opposition party; Abdellah Hassan Cherif of the Islamist party Movement for Society and Peace; and Sadia Naghzi of the General Confederation of Algerian Enterprises.
Candidates have until July 18 to collect signatures.
Tebboune’s re-election for a second term would entrench the power of Algeria’s political and military elite and further distance the country from the aspirations voiced by its “Hirak” movement, which held weekly street protests that pressured the country’s ailing octogenarian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to resign in April 2019, after two decades in office.
Tebboune, a former prime minister under Bouteflika, emerged the victor in an election with a low turnout election in 2019. Protesters boycotted it and decried it as a rushed affair designed to maintain the old regime’s grip on power over the nation with a population of 45 million.
