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The Algerian popular movement continues to call for postponement of the elections scheduled for July 4 as the deadline for the submission of candidates for the Algerian presidential elections approaches their files to the Constitutional Council on Saturday.

The Algerian Interior Ministry has not yet announced the names of those who submitted their candidacy files to the Constitutional Council, except for those who had previously withdrawn the candidacy applications and had more than 70 people, not including prominent political figures.

The head of the Future Front party, Abdelaziz Belaid, decided on Saturday not to file the candidacy for the elections according to a party statement, following the meeting of his national office.

He attributed the reason for his retreat from candidacy to "the state of uncertainty and stalemate that prevails and leads to the lack of real and serious preparation for this important stage, the failure to install the independent committee required to organize elections, and the absence of dialogue called for by the army."

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The Algerian street is divided over the upcoming presidential elections, between a pro-government team that believes it should be held in time for fear of a "constitutional vacuum" after the end of the interim president's term on July 9, as called for by the Chief of Staff of the Algerian army, and the latest opposition believed to produce only A president without the support of the people, but the chief of staff of the Algerian army, Lieutenant General Ahmed Kayed Saleh, reiterated on Monday the need to hold the presidential elections on time, calling for the rapid formation of the Independent Electoral Commission.

He said: "The holding of elections avoids falling into the constitutional vacuum and puts an end to those who want to prolong the crisis, (…), it is necessary to accelerate the formation of the Independent Electoral Commission."

Activists in the protest movement reject Salih's proposal, calling for a postponement of elections they see as impossible for several reasons, political science professor Radwan Buhaidel told Sky News.

"The insistence on holding the elections on July 4 is just a political speech, but it is politically and technically impossible to achieve, as well as popular rejection, which is the most important point in the case," Bouhdale said. The idea of ​​a combination of the two political and constitutional solutions, through a constitutional declaration by which credible figures in the street are agreed upon, oversees a short transition stage, including the preparation of a presidential election, which some see as a "compromise" between those who fear the constitutional vacuum and those demanding a period Transitional and postponement of elections.

Commenting on this point, Bouheidel explained that the authority is aware that it wants to play all the constitutional papers before public opinion and the world before moving to other stages, including perhaps a constitutional declaration issued by the Council after the deadline for the submission of files of candidacy, stressing the importance of reassuring mobility on the fulfillment of his demands.

According to Boehidl, the postponement of the elections "will not solve the problem of mobility", which has other demands is the departure of supervisors of the elections and the symbols of the old regime, and the formation of a neutral committee given broad powers.

Former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned from office in early April under pressure from the street and the army, and Abdelkader Ben Saleh assumed the presidency temporarily.

Ben Saleh, 77, was previously president of the National Assembly and began his parliamentary career in the 1970s.

According to the constitution, Ben Saleh, in his capacity as speaker of the National Assembly (the second chamber of parliament), will head the country temporarily within 90 days until presidential elections are held.

The Algerian Judges' Club announced in April that it would not supervise the upcoming presidential election, as more than 1,000 judges had indicated on March 11, that they would refuse to supervise the presidential election in the country if Bouteflika participated.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Algiers and other cities on Friday, demanding a postponement of the presidential election.

A political source told Reuters that the interim government is expected to extend the current transitional period to allow more time to prepare for the elections.

The demonstrators called for political reforms and the removal of all officials who had been part of the country's ruling elite since independence from France in 1962, as well as the call for the resignation of transitional officials involved in overseeing the vote, including the transitional president and Prime Minister Noureddine Badawi.

"No … for the elections of the fourth of July," protesters chanting with Algerian flags chanted slogans during a march in downtown Algiers, many carrying banners demanding the departure of Ben Saleh and Badawi.

Algerian radio expects to postpone presidential elections
The official Algerian radio indicated that the presidential election was going up on July 4 and that the possibility of postponing it remained in place according to the circumstances in Algeria.

The official radio said that "the legal deadlines for the filing of candidacy files for the upcoming presidential term ends Saturday, at the level of the Constitutional Council, in accordance with Article 140 of the organic law, which includes the electoral law"

She added that this comes at a time when it is difficult to collect signatures for the benefit of those wishing to run within the deadline in view of the developments defined by the political scene in Algeria, "and those wishing to run for the post of President of the Republic to submit to the Constitutional Council file containing all the conditions required in addition to a list of 600 individual signatures from two local constituencies or a list of at least 60,000 signatures across 25 states.

Three Algerian political figures announced their withdrawal from running for the upcoming presidential elections, hours before the end of the deadline for filing files with the Constitutional Council.

Belaid Abdelaziz and Belkacem Sahli and retired general Ali Ghadiri decided to withdraw from the presidential candidacy at the last minute. The Algerian media indicated that it was expected that the Constitutional Council would announce tomorrow the impossibility of organizing the presidential elections on July 4, "Lack of objective reasons necessary for this benefit."

Most Algerian political groups have not announced their candidacy, such as the Movement for a Peace Society, the Movement for Building the Nation, the Justice and Development Front, the National Democratic Rally, the Amal Rally of Algeria and others.

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