ANIE President Notes Smooth Close to Local Election Filing
The Independent National Election Authority (ANIE) President, Saâd Arrouss, recently concluded a field visit to the Algiers provincial coordinator's headquarters, coinciding with the final day for candidates to submit their files for the municipal and provincial popular council elections. Mr. Arrouss expressed his satisfaction with the conditions under which the candidate filing process was conducted. These local elections are scheduled to take place on November 28.
During his visit, Mr. Arrouss observed the operational conditions at the provincial coordinator's office and the progress of candidacy file submissions by political parties and independent lists. He conveyed his relief and satisfaction regarding the positive and smooth conduct of the process. The legal deadline for submitting collective candidacy declarations expired at midnight, while the deadline for individual signature forms, submitted to the head of the municipal committee for electoral list review, closed at 4 PM on the same day.
ANIE has established specific requirements for candidates, including the necessity for political parties to attach a document of endorsement from the party's primary official or authorized local representative. The authority also assigns unique identification numbers: 1 to 100 for political parties or alliances, and numbers from 101 onwards for independent lists in municipal elections, and from 201 onwards for provincial elections. ANIE is responsible for reviewing candidates' legal compliance, issuing acceptance or rejection decisions, with a right to appeal for rejected files. These elections are conducted under the nation's new territorial organization law, which impacts the number of seats based on population data from the latest census, and mandates quotas for candidate lists, including a one-third representation for women (not applicable in municipalities with populations under 20,000), at least half of candidates being under 40 years old on election day, and at least one-third holding a university degree.
