Algerian Opposition Leader Drops Out of Presidential Race

Louisa Hanoune, leader of the Algerian Workers Party, has withdrawn from the presidential race, citing “unfair conditions” that favor the incumbent President Abdelmajid Tebboune. Hanoune announced her decision on Facebook, claiming that the legal framework is biased against Tebboune’s opponents and had been made so to prevent them from contesting. Hanoune, a veteran opposition figure, previously ran for president in 2004, 2009, and 2014. She was arrested in 2019 during mass protests against then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and charged with “plotting against the state and the army” before being acquitted in 2021. Tebboune, who has led Algeria since 2019 and was prime minister under Bouteflika, is the favorite in the election scheduled to hold on September 7.

SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS