RCD: the regime must be isolated

President of the Rally for Culture and Democracy Mohcene Belabes described April’s elections as a “trap” and “offending Algerian people.” “We call on Algerians to reject this whole electoral process,” he said.

“The administration prepared itself to fill ballots in favor of the regime’s candidate Bouteflika ahead of a total fraud. Judges were ordered to reject appeals under the pretext that they are baseless,” Belabes told a Saudi newspaper.

“Moreover, those who will make appeals are involved in this trap because they know the elections result in advance,” he added.

Belabes believes that the elections offend the Algerian people because “the president who wants to succeed himself said all the elections have been fake since 1962.”

“Where is stability? There are daily protests and clashes with security forces in many areas. Thousands of Algerians complain of unemployment and lack of houses, drinking water, gas and paved ways,” the RCD’s leader said in response to Bouteflika’s partisans who say the candidate guarantees stability in Algeria.

He also said boycotting elections and reject of the fourth term are not a goal but the RCD’s call to reject the electoral process is meant to isolate the regime. “The fourth term will be weak and Bouteflika will not be able to get popular legitimacy.”