Algeria’s interim president Abdelkader Bensalah on Wednesday said the election is the only democratic solution to end the ongoing political crisis in the country. He pledged to hold talks without the involvement of the state or the military to make way for the elections, reported Capital News.
“This dialogue… will be led freely and with total transparency by national independent figures who have credibility and who are not linked to any party,” Bensalah said in a speech on state television. “The state in all its components, including the military, will not be a party to this dialogue.”
He urged all sides to drop unrealistic requirements that are likely to prolong the current situation and drag Algeria into a constitutional vacuum.
Bensalah’s call for talks comes just days before his interim mandate expires on July 9.
Algeria has been hit by months of protests, which were initially aimed at restricting long-time President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika from serving a fifth term. After Bouteflika vowed to the protests and made an exit in April, the Algerians continued with the demonstrations demanding a complete political overhaul in the country.
Although a number of politicians and businessmen close to Bouteflika including former prime ministers Abdul Malek Sellal and Ahmad Ouyahia have been arrested in a corruption probe, the protesters are demanding interim president Bensalah, prime minister Noureddine Bedoui, army chief Gaid Salah and all other top figures tainted by their alliance to Bouteflika to step down.
The protestors also want independent institutions to be established ahead of any election. They want the establishment of transitional bodies, free of Bouteflika-era officials, to push through reforms ahead of presidential elections.
The presidential election scheduled for July 4 was postponed last month after bids by two candidates, both little known, were disqualified by the election commission. The government is yet to set a new date for the vote.
