Algeria’s interim President Abdelkader Bensalah on Sunday announced the presidential election has been scheduled for December 12.
“I have decided… that the date of the presidential election will be Thursday, December 12,” said Bensalah in a televised address to the nation on Sunday, reported The Washington Post.
He called on Algerians to make Dec. 12 “a historic day to make the dreams of our people concrete.”
The interim president said elections will return Algeria to constitutional legality and allow the people to choose its future president freely and sovereignly. On Sunday he designated a new, independent election authority to oversee the vote, replacing the interior ministry.
The announcement follows a call out from the Algerian army chief who insisted that polls be held by the end of 2019 to fill a gap left by former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The longtime leader was ousted from office more than five months ago after his attempted bid at a fifth presidential term caused mass protests.
Last week, the Algerian parliament passed two bills that would facilitate the announcement of a vote. The bills were presented by Justice Minister Belkacem Zeghmati on Wednesday. The first bill proposed the creation of an independent election authority, while the second bill was a revision of Algeria’s electoral law.
On Friday, the protesters returned to the streets after parliament passed bills paving the way for the announcement of elections. They claim that but the person chosen to lead the independent election body is a former justice minister long linked to Bouteflika’s administration.
The demonstrators are demanding key regime figures step down and an overhaul of political institutions before the elections, arguing that polls conducted under the current government would only reinforce the status quo. They also demand that political prisoners be set free and calls for the army chief to leave.
