Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune left the suspense hanging on Saturday evening in a television interview on his candidacy for a second term during the anticipated presidential election on September 7.
“I am not going to answer, because before the time it is not the time
,” said Mr. Tebboune, in an interview broadcast on national television. The president in any case ruled out
“any conflict at the top of the hierarchy over his retention or departure”
from the presidency.
“This is not the time
,” he replied, when asked how he was going to
“resolve the dilemma”
between calls for a second term and his
“immediate entourage (who) advises him to (rest) after 55 years in the service of the homeland
.
President Tebboune, aged 78, was hospitalized for several months in Germany after contracting Covid at the end of 2020. The anticipation of the presidential election to September 7 was announced on March 21, without official explanations. The head of state assured that bringing the election forward by three months was
“purely technical”
.
Strong abstention in 2019
“December is not the real date of elections”
in Algeria, he said, recalling that in 2019, the presidential election was to take place much earlier, but that
“the transition phase was prolonged”
. According to him,
“in September, citizens will be better prepared to vote after the summer holidays and everyone will have returned home”
.
The last presidential election, won by Mr. Tebboune with 58% of the votes but marked by a strong abstention, took place on December 12, 2019. He succeeded Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was forced to resign in April of the same year under pressure from the army and Hirak, a popular protest movement.
Very weakened by a stroke in 2013, Abdelaziz Bouteflika tried to obtain a fifth term in 2019, provoking the Hirak which had broadened to demands for political reforms and increased freedoms.
On Saturday, the Head of State took advantage of his meeting with journalists to announce new increases in the salaries of civil servants:
“we are going to try to double salaries in 2026/2027, we are at 47% (increase) , we will increase the increase to 53%
.
He was also optimistic for the growth of his country, Africa's leading exporter of natural gas, estimating that Algerian GDP should exceed $400 billion in mid-2026, compared to $247 billion in 2023 according to an IMF estimate.