Gaid Salah: “Whoever Obstructs The Upcoming Elections Will Be Punished According To The Law

Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaïd Salah, Deputy Minister of National Defense, Chief of Staff of the National People’s Army (ANP), assured on Thursday from Béchar that the ANP high command will take, “as soon as possible, all necessary measures” that will allow the Algerian citizens to exercise their electoral duty in a “climate of serenity and tranquility, and in the best security conditions”.

This came out in Mr. Gaid Salah’s keynote speech, broadcast on Thursday September 26th via videoconference, to all units of the 3rd Military Region on the 3rd day of his working and inspection visit to Béchar in south-western Algeria.

For him, “it is certain that the ongoing preparations for the upcoming presidential elections, whose schedule, as you all know, is set for the 12th of next December 2019, have effectively begun on the ground, by making available all the necessary conditions and factors for the success of this decisive election in the life of the Nation, and this, through the adaptation of the Organic Law on Elections and its amendment to meet the legitimate aspirations of our worthy people, as well as the creation of the Independent National Authority on Elections”.

He added that this Authority “is considered as an important event in the process of ending the crisis, since this Authority has benefited from all the prerogatives that allow it to deal exclusively with all the stages of the electoral process”.

He further underlined that it is “a fact (electoral process) that our country is experiencing for the first time, and which constitutes a qualitative leap in the path of nation-building, giving more credibility and transparency to the electoral process. On this occasion, I would not fail to hail once again the sense of responsibility and loyal commitment shown by the panel of this Authority, in order to make this important electoral deadline a crucial step forward that the Algerian people are eagerly awaiting”.

The Lieutenant General noted that “this historic event will be a real celebration for Algeria and its loyal children, on the constitutional way out of the crisis”.

“It is precisely in this perspective that our commitment to the constitutional path, our commitment to full respect for republican laws, and our course of action, from which we will never deviate, whatever the circumstances, because it is the only sure path to the fulfillment of the great aspirations on which the country’s future depends,” Mr. Gaid Salah observed.

The Deputy Minister of National Defense further stressed that “the main objective of the content of the speeches I make from the various Military Regions to the faithful children of my Motherland, throughout the national territory, is to accompany them and inform them, on the basis of data, about current events in their own country, to inform them of the challenges facing our country, and of the efforts that the ANP is making, alongside all the faithful children of our country, to secure Algeria’s present and future, and for the country’s stability and prosperity, as I always ensure that each speech is in line with the circumstances and situation facing the nation”.

The Lieutenant General specified that the nationalist path “does not suit the nefarious gang who is trying by all means to obstruct this electoral process, which remains the keystone to resolve the crisis facing our country, and that the Algerian people, aware of their interest and that of their country, as well as the scale of the challenges encountered, will know how to act during this decisive national election, and take up this challenge through a strong and massive participation in this constructive nationalist effort”.

“This nationalist path, which is not suitable for the gang who is trying by all means to obstruct this electoral process, remains the keystone to resolve the crisis facing our country,” he noted.

Lieutenant General Gaid Salah added that “all those who will stand in the way of this constitutional solution and popular demand, or who work to obstruct this vital national process in any form, will find a fair and rigorous, even dissuasive, sanction in accordance with the law, because there is no room for shenanigans when it comes to the supreme interest of the country”.

He also stated, in this regard, “we are fully convinced that the Algerian people, aware of their interest and that of their country, as well as the scale of the challenges encountered, will know how to act during this decisive national election, and how to live up to the challenge through strong and massive participation in this constructive nationalist effort, by performing its national duty freely and transparently, in a climate of deep awareness of the importance of this event and its essential role in fulfilling the hopes of millions of valiant Chouhadas or Martyrs, and the ambitions of the generations of national independence”.
The ANP’s commitment to achieving “these legitimate aspirations is a dignified and steadfast commitment, which is dictated to us by the explicit constitutional prerogatives of our Armed Forces”, he insisted, noting “precisely in this context, the importance we attach to supporting and accompanying all State institutions, as well as to making available all forms of support to the Independent National Authority for Elections”.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah also reiterated the ANP’s oath to create “all the appropriate conditions for the holding of presidential elections, guaranteeing all the factors of security and tranquility so that the Algerian people can enjoy their right and exercise their electoral duty”.
“We have made an oath before the Algerian people to create all the appropriate conditions for the smooth holding of presidential elections, and we will be with the will of Allah the Almighty, guaranteeing all the factors of security and quietude so that the Algerian people can enjoy their right and exercise their electoral duty, through effective control on the ground and the full and studied deployment of the various security forces throughout the national territory, able to fully secure the presidential elections, to be a mature and honorable fruit, able to take charge of the achievement of the insistent popular demand through the election of a President of the Republic who enjoys strong popular support allowing him to fulfill his great constitutional responsibilities,” he argued.
Mr. Gaid Salah added that “This is an extremely important responsibility, in perfect harmony with the legitimate aspirations of the Algerian people, who will undoubtedly be up to Algeria’s greatness and its national history rich in great deeds and glories”.
At the end of his speech, the Lieutenant General listened to the statements of the managers and staff of the 3rd military Region who reiterated “their permanent availability to face up efficiently to any possible risk whatever its nature”.