Algeria to Hold Local Elections on Saturday, Nov.27

After this Saturday, Algeria will witness another electoral station by organizing the prior local elections called for by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, within the framework of his reform policies, which aimed at rebuilding state institutions, a date that comes in line with the convening of the electorate on August 31, 2021.

The local elections are the last station in the political project of President Tebboune, who had adhered to his promises during the electoral campaign that led him to the Mouradia Palace, to dissolve all elected councils and rebuild them according to perceptions based on separating money from politics and opening the way for the youth to enter the political fray, to renew the political class that has shown its failures.

The local elections are the third in less than two years since President Tebboune took over the presidency, which began, as is known, with the referendum on amending the constitution in November 2020, then the legislative elections on June 12, and finally the municipal and state elections this Saturday.

1158 lists across 58 wilayas participate in the state council elections, of which 877 are party lists and 281 are independent candidates, a fact that was not recorded in the last legislative elections, in which the independents formed the majority of the candidates.

As for the municipal elections, 5848 lists are competing, including 4860 representing 40 political parties and 988 lists for the independent candidates, according to the figures revealed by the Independent National Electoral Authority, which in turn recorded a significant decline in the lists of independent candidates compared to the partisan candidates. Over 23.000.479 voters will choose their candidates at the local level.

Unlike the recent legislative elections, the number of participants will be larger in the municipal and state elections, with only two parties boycotting this event, namely the Rally for Culture and Democracy and the Labor Party, on the pretext of the lack of appropriate conditions, while The Socialist Forces Front Party has changed its previous position and decided to participate after it had boycotted the previous legislative elections, which would give the Saturday elections more turnout and thus credibility.

The decrease in the number of boycotters among those affiliated with the democratic movement would contribute to raising the percentage of participants in the Kabylie region, where turnout during the recent elections was at low levels.

By completing the construction of state institutions, the government that is implementing President Tebboune’s project will have moved to the second stage of advancing the national economy, which remains the guarantor of improving the conditions of the citizen, who was greatly affected by the repercussions of the viral pandemic that damaged the economy, leaving negative repercussions on the prices of many largely-consumed products.

Previously, Algeria announced that local elections will be held on Nov. 27, one year earlier than originally scheduled.

President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune signed on Saturday, 28 August 2021, a presidential decree convening the electorate for early elections of the municipal and provincial councils, scheduled for Saturday 27 November 2021. The presidential decree also provides for the exceptional review of the electoral lists during the period from Sept. 5-15, 2021.