Algeria: Tebboune, Three Candidates to Submit Presidential Bids

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (Algerian Presidency)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (Algerian Presidency)
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Algeria: Tebboune, Three Candidates to Submit Presidential Bids

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (Algerian Presidency)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (Algerian Presidency)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will submit on Thursday his candidacy for the presidential election on September 7 at the Electoral Monitoring Authority.

Supporters of Tebboune have announced he will personally submit his candidacy at the Authority’s headquarters, accompanied by his influential inner circle’s legal and judicial affairs adviser, Boualem Boualem.

Boualem is expected to manage Tebboune’s campaign due to their close working relationship.

There is also talk that Prime Minister Nadhir Arbaoui might take on the campaign manager role.

Both Boualem and Arbaoui would need to resign from their government positions to avoid conflicts of interest.

Historically, the late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika chose Abdelmalek Sellal as his campaign manager for the 2009 and 2014 elections.

Sellal, a former Minister and Prime Minister, resigned before each election and returned to his post after Bouteflika’s victory. Sellal is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption.

An anonymous senior member of the pro-Tebboune Karamah Party told Asharq Al-Awsat that the distribution of signature collection forms to party activists is being coordinated directly with Boualem.

Sources from the Movement of Society for Peace told Asharq Al-Awsat that members of the party’s executive office will accompany their leader, Abdelali Hassani Cherif, when he submits his candidacy to the Electoral Authority, headed by former Justice Minister Mohamed Charfi.

Additionally, Youssef Aouchiche, the First Secretary of the Socialist Forces Front, and Saida Neghza, a businesswoman and President of the National Confederation of Employers, have scheduled appointments at the Authority on Thursday to submit their candidacies.

This indicates they have met the candidacy requirements, pending final approval from the Constitutional Court, which handles appeals if a candidate’s submission is rejected by the Authority.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.