Expiration of the legal deadlines for the filing of candidacy files for the presidential elections in Algeria

The legal deadline for filing candidacy files for Algeria's presidential elections scheduled for December 12th has ended at midnight Saturday-Sunday Algiers time (2 am Sunday, Mecca time).

This comes as Algeria continues to hold weekly protests against the holding of elections in the current circumstances, and demanding the removal of all symbols of the Bouteflika period first.

The Independent Electoral Commission rejected any extension of the deadline, and invited those wishing to enter the race to communicate with them, to set the date of filing their files before the deadline.

The Independent National Electoral Commission will start examining the files of those who wish to run as soon as they are filed within seven days from the date of filing each file, to check the validity of the deposited documents, before publishing the final list of candidates.

Former Prime Minister Abdelmajid Tebboun on Saturday submitted his candidacy for the presidential elections, APS reported.

Taboun was sacked as prime minister just three months after he took office in August 2017, in the wake of the power struggle surrounding former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Abdelmajid Tebboun, 73, is the fourth presidential candidate to present his file to the newly independent National Electoral Authority, which was set up to supervise the vote opposed by Algeria's protest movement since February.

On Saturday morning, Ali Zoghoub, head of the small Algerian Tagammu Party, submitted his candidacy. Two days ago, Ezzedine Mihoub and Abdelkader Ben Gherina ran.

Mihoub is the candidate of the National Democratic Rally, one of the most important allies of the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) during Bouteflika's 20-year rule.

Ahead of the deadline for candidacy for the Algerian presidential elections, Algerians protested heavily against the regime on Friday, denouncing recent statements by acting president Abdelkader Bensalah.

The streets of Algiers were filled with protesters on Friday, the 36th of demonstrations against the regime in Algeria since it got rid of French colonialism in 1962, and against the presidential ballot scheduled for late this year.

"There will be no elections," one demonstrator wrote, while some of the cartoons were blamed on President Abdelkader Ben Saleh, army chief Ahmed Kayed Saleh and Prime Minister Noureddine Badawi.

Judges' strike
In another development, the Algerian judges' union announced an open-ended strike from Sunday until the government responded to their demands. The strike was an expression of the union's rejection of the annual transfers of judges announced by the Ministry of Justice last Thursday, as it considered an infringement by the Ministry of Justice on the powers of the Supreme Judicial Council.

The union said in a statement that the remittances of the judges were prepared in closed rooms and targeted leaders of the union in order to hit them, and also demanded the Minister of Justice to stop what it called "condescending dealings" with the judges, saying that they are not a herd to be insulted by this humiliation.

The Algerian Ministry of Justice responded to the statement of the National Union of Judges and warned against obstructing the judicial process. The Justice Ministry said in a statement that the annual movement of judges was decided by the Supreme Judicial Council and approved unanimously by its members.

The law regulated the provisions of legitimate grievance against remittances before the Council, and any judge deemed to be affected was entitled to exercise that right.

Regarding the other demands, the Ministry of Justice said that despite its miraculous nature, it was under consideration with the involvement of the Judges' Union. A regulatory text has been prepared pending submission to the competent authorities.