Algeria: Opposition denounces barring of politicians from elections
With the parliamentary elections coming up on July 2nd, the opposition has denounced the systematic and massive exclusion of political members. According to RFI on June 5th, opposition political parties are particularly angry at Article 200, seen as responsible for the elimination of hundreds of candidates.
The independent national authority of elections in Algeria (Anie) has examined 788 candidacies, with a total of 10 168 candidates.
Since the 31st of May, administrative courts have been swamped with lawyers defending the case of rejected candidates to the parliament. Lawyers have asked the justice courts to investigate the Anie, as they declare the motives of rejection are fallacious. Advocates and activists call Article 200, in tandem with Anie, a dangerous mechanism that highly affects the electoral process. Other parties denounce a “decapitation of their staff”.
The application of Article 200 is at the heart of the controversy, as the Anie uses it disproportionately to bar candidates from running for parliament. According to the Workers’ Party of Algeria, this law has become a “crushing machine”, affecting constitutional rights and democracy. The article restricts many politicians from running through strict rules, while also being able to bar them with little evidence having to be shown publicly. The article also recently stated that the number of mandates that can be run by a candidate is limited to 2, whether consecutive or separated.
Zoheir Touis, vice president of the Jil Jadid party, added that this law “makes believe the public opinion that these men and women are linked to dirty money”. He later added that it is defamation, and that the Anie does not provide any sufficient evidence to back up their decisions, only leaving a stain on the name of politicians.
The Jil Jadid party announced to appeal the court decisions. The 5 main parties of opposition openly regret that the Anie is subordinate to the current government.
RFI, Maghrebi.org
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