This is the first time such a debate has been organized. A single exchange between the five candidates vying for the Algerian presidential election is held Friday, December 6 as announced by the Independent National Electoral Authority (ANIE). In a week, Algerians are called to vote to choose a successor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, forced to resign in April by a popular movement to challenge the unpublished regime.
Parody of election? "This is in any case what thinks a large majority of Algerians," says Bruno Daroux, international columnist, on the set of France 24.
In Algeria, the protest movement, which has lasted nine months, crystallized around the presidential election. In the streets, the Algerians continue to demonstrate to say "no" to this election, demanding a true democracy and a transparent election. According to them, the election of December 12 does not meet the criteria of plurality and transparency, the five candidates selected by the electoral commission being, all five, from the "Bouteflika system".
"The debate will not change anything"
Ali Benflis was the first Prime Minister of President Bouteflika in 1999. He then became a figure of the opposition, but at the heart of the system; Abdelmajid Tebboune was also Prime Minister under the Bouteflika era, in 2017; Azzedine Mihoubi serves as a favorite because he chairs the National Democratic Rally (RND), a small party associated with the FLN (which has supported him, but whose protesters often demand dissolution); Abdelkader Bengrina is associated with the Islamist movement; Abdelaziz Belaid, finally, was hired by youth associations that supported Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
According to Bruno Daroux, "this casting does not guarantee a pluralist and free election for the 'Hirak' which calls for a real change and stays on a clear line".
Friday, a few hours before the debate, the Algerians have again planned to demonstrate against the power, as every Friday. For Bruno Daroux, "the debate will probably change nothing".