Ahmad 
The use of “corrupt money” by politicians in the electoral process to buy votes or influence voters in Algeria has led to the imprisonment of dozens of elected officials loyal to several ruling parties.
The Algerian judiciary has placed three politicians under surveillance pending their trial for their involvement in a corruption case that marred the process of collecting signatures in their favor to run in the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for September 7.
The defendants are: Saida Neghza, a businesswoman and head of the Algerian Confederation of Enterprises, known for her harsh criticism of economic policies in her country; Belkacem Sahli, a former minister during the era of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who leads the “National Republican Alliance” party; and Abdelhakim Hamadi, an independent candidate who was promoting his program extensively on social media.
The electoral commission had announced the exclusion of the three candidates by the Constitutional Court a few days ago due to insufficient signatures collected after a number of them were cancelled for being invalid.
The charges against them, after opening a judicial investigation against them, include misdemeanors of granting undue benefits, abuse of power, offering cash gifts or promising to offer them in order to obtain or attempt to obtain voters’ votes, abuse of office, receiving cash gifts or promises in order to grant electoral votes, and fraud.
The case has ignited the Algerian arena, especially by the ruling parties supporting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for a second term, after it became clear that a number of elected officials loyal to them were involved in selling signatures.
These candidates who were excluded from running have implicated 68 defendants, most of whom are local elected officials and parliamentarians, as the investigating judge ordered their temporary detention, while the total number of defendants in the case has reached 74.
The Future Front, one of the three parties supporting Tebboune, responded that it would take “the necessary punitive measures against anyone proven to be involved in these suspicious operations in accordance with the basic law and internal regulations of the party,” and affirmed its support for the strict implementation of procedures and laws.
As for the National Liberation Front (FLN) party (formerly ruling), it disavowed in a statement any activist or elected official involved in the process of selling signatures in favor of some candidates.
The Algerian National Construction Movement announced its absolute rejection of these “shameful practices” that aim to corrupt political life in the country.
The candidate for the upcoming presidential elections for the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) Abdelali Hassani confirmed that the movement’s elected officials are not concerned with the issue of purchasing forms, and that he has not received any information about summoning any of the elected officials for investigation into the case.
Hassani explained during a press conference on the occasion of presenting his electoral program that MSP denounces these practices and will continue to struggle for the success of the electoral process.
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