Algeria president to face two challengers in September election

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accused of leading a crackdown on dissent since mass protests in 2019, is to face two challengers in a September 7 election, organisers said Thursday.

Abdelaali Hassani of the moderate Islamist party the Movement of Society for Peace and Youssef Aouchiche of the centre-left Socialist Forces Front are the two candidates who will stand against the 78-year-old incumbent.

The other 13 hopefuls all had their candidacies rejected after failing to muster the required number of signatures of support.

Tebboune, who was elected in 2019 with 58 percent of the vote following months of pro-democracy protests, announced in March that the presidential election would be held on September 7.

A former prime minister under longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was ousted during the 2019 protests, Tebboune has overseen a crackdown on the 'Hirak' movement that led the protests.

Taking advantage of the restrictions on gatherings required during the Covid pandemic, Tebboune's administration banned demonstrations by 'Hirak' and stepped up prosecutions of dissident activists, journalists and academics.

In February, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said that five years after the pro-democracy protests erupted, Algerian authorities were still restricting the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.