ALGIERS: The leader of Algeria’s main Islamist party on Thursday kicked off the official candidate submissions for the upcoming presidential election in which the incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 78, is the frontrunner.
Abdelaali Hassani, head of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) party, was first to submit his candidacy on Thursday morning, an AFP correspondent saw, hours before Tebboune was expected to do the same.
Tebboune, who was elected in 2019 following months of pro-democracy protests and the ousting of longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, said on July 11 he would seek a second term.
In March, he announced that the election would be held on September 7, three months ahead of schedule, but gave no reason for the decision.
Algeria, home to some 45 million people, is Africa’s largest country.
The hydrocarbon-rich nation is the continent’s main natural gas supplier, with neighboring Tunisia, Spain, and Italy heavily reliant on Algerian gas.
The final list of hopefuls for the election will be published on July 27.
To qualify to appear on the ballot, candidates are required to present a list of at least 50,000 individual signatures from registered voters or from 600 members from at least 29 of Algeria’s various provincial assemblies.
Ahmed Sadok, an MSP representative, told AFP that his party had already gathered “more than 90,000 petition signatures” in support of Hassani as well as the backing of “2,200 other elected representatives.”
With the Algerian Workers Party’s leader Louisa Hanoune dropping out of the race last week, only two female candidates — businesswoman Saida Nezgha and lawyer Zoubida Assoul — remain in contention.
But Tebboune is still the favorite, with endorsements from several political parties.
“Given the desire of many parties, political and non-political organizations and the youth, I announce my intention to run for a second term,” he said when announcing his candidacy.
First Algerian presidential hopeful submits candidacy
https://arab.news/55mm5
First Algerian presidential hopeful submits candidacy
- Algerian president said he would seek a second term
Stranger in Moscow: Leaked data details life of Assad in exile
- Deposed dictator spends time ‘brushing up on ophthalmology,’ The Guardian reports
LONDON: More than a year after fleeing Syria, ousted former president Bashar Assad is living a secluded life of luxury in Moscow, with reports suggesting he has returned to studying ophthalmology while remaining cut off from political life.
Assad, who trained in London as an eye doctor before assuming power in 2000, was deposed in December 2024 as rebel forces advanced on Damascus, ending decades of his family’s rule. He fled the country overnight, with Russian assistance, after 14 years of civil war that left more than 600,000 people dead and nearly 14 million displaced.
According to sources cited by The Guardian newspaper in a report published on Monday, Assad is now living in or near Rublyovka, an exclusive gated community west of Moscow favored by Russia’s political and financial elite.
Despite his wealth and the security surrounding his exile, the former leader is said to be living a largely isolated life and is regarded as politically irrelevant in Moscow’s ruling circles.
A family friend told the newspaper that Assad has been studying Russian and revisiting his medical training, describing ophthalmology as a long-held passion. Russian authorities have reportedly barred him from engaging in any form of political or media activity.
Russia’s ambassador to Iraq confirmed in November that Assad was prohibited from making public appearances, despite being safe and under protection.
Sources told The Guardian that Assad left Syria without warning senior regime allies or members of his extended family, many of whom were forced to scramble to escape as the government collapsed. His brother Maher Assad, a senior military figure, was said to have remained in Damascus until the final moments, helping others flee.
In the months since the family’s escape from Syria, attention has reportedly focused on the health of Assad’s wife, Asma, who had been undergoing treatment in Moscow for leukaemia. According to sources familiar with the situation, her condition stabilized following experimental therapy.
While Assad himself remains largely invisible to the Russian public, his children have gradually adapted to life in the country. His daughter, Zein, graduated in June from Moscow’s prestigious MGIMO University, one of the few public sightings of Assad family members since their regime’s fall from power. His sons, Hafez and Karim, have withdrawn from social media and keep a low profile.
Despite prior hopes of relocating to the UAE, sources said the family now accepts that a permanent move out of Russia is unlikely in the near future, even as they continue to travel between Moscow and the Gulf.
