The Algerian presidency said in a statement on Friday that the presidential election will be held on April 18, without clarifying whether President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will run for a fifth term.
Bouteflika, 81, has been in power since 1999 and has rarely been seen in public places since he suffered a stroke in 2013 that made him ride a wheelchair.
Candidates have 45 days to inform the Constitutional Council of their intention to run, while the possibility of Bouteflika's candidacy, which has been the focus of political debate in Algeria in recent months, is unclear.
The decision also ended a debate and anticipation that the country has seen in recent weeks about the possibility of postponing the presidential elections to "discuss the compatibility" between the Authority and the opposition over the next phase, but the move was not supported by the political class.
During the year 2018, Algeria witnessed calls from parties and organizations loyal to Bouteflika to run for a fifth term, while calling on opposition parties and personalities to step down and allow what it calls a negotiated democratic transition to power.
On several occasions, the military attacked opposition parties and retired military personnel who called for intervention to "ensure democratic transition" and stressed that the military was committed to its constitutional duties not to interfere in political affairs.