The official news agency considers the decision to submit elections the official signal for an exit from the 2019 movement crisis (Al Jazeera)
Algeria -
At a politically surprising time, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that the upcoming presidential elections would be postponed beyond their supposed constitutional deadlines, thereby reducing his current mandate and opening the door to observers’ interpretations and opponents’ requirements.
This came after a meeting chaired by Tebboune, on Thursday, in the presence of senior officials of the state’s sovereign institutions, led by the Chief of Staff of the Army, the heads of the two chambers of Parliament, and the President of the Constitutional Court, in addition to the Prime Minister and the Head of the Independent National Elections Authority.
During the meeting, it was decided, according to a statement by the Presidency of the Republic, to hold pre-presidential elections, the date of which was set on Saturday, September 7, 2024, where the electoral college will be called on June 8, 2024, which means that the new presidential elections are about 3.5 months ahead of their legal date.
The Algerian Constitution grants the President of the Republic the power to advance the date of the presidential elections without any condition.
President Tebboune decides to advance the presidential elections in Algeria by 3 months from their legal date (Algerian Presidency)
Welcoming and requiring transparency
In the first reactions, the major political forces reacted positively to Tebboune’s decision, as the National Liberation Front, the largest party in the country, said that “at a time when some media outlets outside the country were promoting the postponement of the presidential elections, here is Algeria silencing everyone who doubts that it A state of institutions and an ideal model of democracy.
As for the Movement for Society for Peace, the largest opposition political group, it called for “providing a fair electoral atmosphere to ensure the transparency of the upcoming presidential elections in order to break away from the stereotype resulting from previous negative practices.”
For its part, the National Republican Alliance stressed that it was supposed to "clarify the justifications for the decision to national public opinion (...) in order to avoid exposing citizens to false interpretations."
Internal and external coercions
In his assessment of the background of the sudden decision, Farouk Tayfour, professor of political science at the University of Blida, believes that it is not related to President Tebboune’s desire to leave, “especially if we read the image of the scene of the meeting, the nature of its participants, and the state of consensus recorded around it.”
In a statement to Al Jazeera Net, analyst Tayfour explains that the acceleration of the elections is to anticipate coercions that may have two internal dimensions, which is to confuse the parties behind the maneuvers to resist change and the internal and foreign policies of President Tebboune.
Regarding the external dimension, Tayfour believes that the authority has estimated, through periodic reports, that it is best for it to advance the presidential elections by 3 months, in order to devote itself to pressing national entitlements, especially since the elections remaining on time coincides with other regional and international bets that are uncomfortable and even disturbing, as His expression.
The analyst explained that the absence of an official statement of the justifications for the decision leaves us with two hypotheses: the first is internal, related to using the president’s powers to open the national arena, which is in a period of waiting and waiting, and the second is external, taking precautions against any changes that may occur that could affect the state of stability in Algeria.
Farouk Tayfour added that the date of the presidential elections in Algeria coincides with many presidential elections in pivotal countries, most notably America, and therefore “the one who decided to expedite the election may have taken both assumptions together.”
The Movement for Society for Peace is more likely to compete with President Tebboune, according to observers (Al Jazeera)
Tactical necessity
In this context, the Algerian News Agency (official) broke its silence, following the many questions raised by politicians and observers, to raise the curtain in an analytical cable, on Friday evening, about the motives for the decision.
The agency said that the announcement of moving forward the date of organizing the presidential elections to September surprised many, as “the Algerian president, out of his keenness for transparency, caused confusion among his opponents and, to a certain extent, his allies. Whoever controls the timing controls the situation.”
The agency explained that the first meaning of the decision is the official signal for an exit from the 2019 movement crisis, as “the Algerian state today is not in a crisis or in a state of emergency, but rather has regained its stability and the balance of its institutions while restoring its decision-making path.”
The second meaning, the agency adds, is “a permanent return to the people, the sole decision-maker and the sole accountant for what the President of the Republic has accomplished, which indicates that President Tebboune trusts his people, his citizens, his voters, and their judgment and awareness.”
The third motive, according to the official agency’s reading, is that “external threats are real and tangible, making reducing the first term a tactical necessity, in order to anticipate programmed unrest.”
The official source confirmed that "as long as President Tebboune has not yet achieved all his goals, promises and firm commitments, he will remain fully focused on completing his covenant with the Algerians and with the citizen who restored his reputation as having the highest say," in a clear indication of his readiness to advance for a second term.
The decision to expedite the presidential elections was issued in a meeting with the participation of senior officials of sovereign institutions (the Algerian presidency)
Request greater authorization
Regarding the prospects for the next presidential station in light of the decision to present it, political analyst Idris Boulkaabat believes, in a statement to Al Jazeera Net, that President Tebboune wants to obtain a greater popular mandate with the date of social entry, as attendance increases at all levels.
This is not to improve his personal image before the Algerians, as the analyst explains, but rather to send a strong message to international decision-making centers that Algeria’s image at the political level has changed.
There is no doubt that the pre-elections will restore life to the political parties, and it is expected that they will produce new faces on the scene to renew the political class that lost much of its strength during the popular movement, according to the analyst.
In turn, Salim Guellala, professor of political science at the University of Algiers 1, confirms that the decision to early the elections, without being preceded by events, political tensions, or leaks, indicates that Tebboune will re-run for a second term.
In addition, Qalala points to the general situation in the country, which is characterized by a state of stability and the absence of recurring social protest, as was the case on the eve of previous presidential terms, which means that the circumstances are in favor of the current president advancing in the race again.
Regarding the upcoming presidential scene, academic Galala does not imagine that the competition for President Tebboune will be great, given the weakness of the current parties and the reluctance of party or independent figures to run.
In a statement to Al Jazeera Net, Qalala expected that the most fortunate competitor with President Tebboune would be the Knight of the Movement for Society for Peace (Islamic Movement), if it decided to participate with its own candidate, as it is the most organized and widespread at the national level, as he put it.
Source: Al Jazeera