Multiple Violations of Electoral Law by President-Candidate Tebboune

Immediately after announcing his candidacy, President-Candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent his chief of staff from the presidency, Boualem Boualem, and the Director General of Communications, Kamel Sid Saïd, to the headquarters of the National Independent Authority for Elections (ANIE) to submit his application. This is a first violation of the electoral organic law. Neither the press, the competing candidates, nor Mohamed Charfi, president of the ANIE, had any reaction.

However, the transgression is very serious. The president should not use state employees for his personal service. But this is just the beginning. The collection of endorsements is also highly questionable. Saïda Neghza, a candidate, has pointed this out. It is not believable to claim collecting 300,000 signatures across 58 provinces without seeing any mass movement in front of town halls for the legalization of signatures. Moving on…

One can argue as much as one wants on the candidate’s side to justify these infractions. But where there is no explanation and the violation of the law is most clear is when the candidate-president fails to submit “a medical certificate issued to the person by sworn doctors,” as required by Article 139 of the electoral law. At 79 years old, Abdelmadjid Tebboune suffers from a pulmonary problem caused by smoking. He has difficulty breathing after any exertion. He also has a foot problem. During his visit to Turkey, he had significant trouble walking properly, in addition to his sinus issue.

Another significant violation of the electoral law is the absence of his asset declaration in his file. Article 139-16 of Organic Law 16-10 of August 25, 2016, relating to the electoral regime requires every candidate for the highest office to declare their real estate, movable property, and bank accounts in Algeria and abroad.

These two last violations (the medical certificate and the asset declaration) have been generalized to other candidates for whom these documents were not required.

However, the most significant issue, considered the scandal of all the presidential elections, is the capital flight. The illegal transfer of 2.4 million Euros out of Algerian territory and seized at Charles-De-Gaulle Roissy Airport constitutes, in the eyes of the law, an economic crime. Abdelmadjid Tebboune bears primary responsibility for this crime. The imposed silence on Algerian media about this scandal, as if Algeria were not concerned, and the alarming silence of the judicial system, which has not ordered an investigation, speaks volumes about Tebboune and his clan’s responsibility.

“Tebboune is a free candidate, yes… but not free to break the law and do whatever he pleases,” comments a disillusioned Algerian citizen.