Algerian President to face two challengers in September election

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accused of leading a crackdown on dissent since mass protests erupted in 2019, will face two challengers in the September 7 election, AFP reports citing election organizers. The 78-year-old incumbent will face Abdelaali Hassani of the moderate Islamist Movement of Society for Peace and Youssef Aouchiche of the centre-left Socialist Forces Front.

Tebboune was elected in 2019 with 58 percent of the vote after months of pro-democracy protests that toppled his predecessor President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Tebboune, who had served as Bouteflika’s prime minister subsequently cracked down on the Hirak movement that led the protests. His administration banned Hirak demonstrations during the Covid pandemic and ramped up prosecutions of dissidents, activists, journalists, and academics.

In February human rights group Amnesty International said that Algerian authorities continue to restrict freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, five years after the Hirak protests began.