Three candidates approved for Algeria presidential election

Algiers: The National Independent Authority for Elections (ANIE) validated the candidacy requests of three individuals for the presidential election scheduled for September 7 in Algeria, state-run television ENTV reported.

According to the report released on Thursday, Mohamed Chorfi, the head of ANIE, held a press briefing to unveil the list of candidates for the September elections.

He said that ANIE approved the candidacies of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Secretary General of the Socialist Forces Front Youcef Aouchiche, and head of the Movement of Society for Peace Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, and deemed them eligible as they met all the requirements set forth by ANIE, Xinhua news agency reported.

Under Algeria's electoral law, any candidate wishing to run must collect either 600 individual signatures from elected members of municipal, provincial, or parliamentary councils or at least 50,000 signatures from eligible voters across at least 29 provinces, with a minimum of 1,200 signatures in each province.

President Tebboune made the decision on March 21 to schedule snap presidential elections for September 7, citing "purely technical reasons". On July 11, he announced his intention to run for a second five-year term.

Over 24 million Algerian citizens, out of a total population of over 45 million, are eligible to participate in the upcoming elections.