Algerian army says to remain neutral in parliamentary election

By Abdurazzak Abdullah
ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) – The Algerian military said Wednesday it will remain neutral in the June 12 parliamentary election.

“The army refuses to be dragged into the political game in the county,” reads an editorial in the June edition of the Army Magazine.

"We say once again that the People's National Army is a republican army and will remain so in an irreversible manner [...] an army that assumes its constitutional duties as required by the laws of the republic," it said.

“The army refuses to be dragged into the game played by those who have lost their way,” the editorial added.

About 24 million voters, more than half of Algeria’s 43 million population, are eligible to vote in the June 12 polls.

A total of 1,483 candidates are vying in the race, including 646 from 28 political parties and 837 independents, to win seats in the 407-member parliament.

In March, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune issued a decree calling early parliamentary election on June 12, less than a month after dissolving the People's National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara