The percentage of rejected candidates for the Algerian parliamentary elections constituted about 30 percent of those who submitted their files. This is the first statistic provided by the Independent National Election Authority on the subject of exclusions, which is sparking widespread debate in the country before the scheduled vote on July 2nd.
These figures came in a statement from the electoral authority that included a preliminary tally of the study of collective candidacy applications, at a time when judicial appeals procedures and the process of replacing rejected candidates are continuing, amid a state of alert within political parties and independent lists that are racing against time to reform their lists before the legal deadlines expire.
The Independent National Election Authority explained that its offices processed 788 collective candidacy applications within the country, comprising a total of 10,168 candidates. According to the announced results, 77 electoral lists were definitively accepted, while 31 were rejected, including 16 lists due to failing to meet the legally required number of individual signature forms, as stipulated in Article 202 of the electoral law.
The number of rejected candidates reached 3174, which is equivalent to 30 percent of the total files studied.
She also noted that 680 other lists are still awaiting the results of appeals and ongoing legal proceedings, reflecting that a large part of the electoral landscape has not yet been definitively decided, and that the lists that are finally approved will be determined after the completion of the judicial and administrative process related to the nomination files.
Regarding the candidates themselves, the figures showed that 6,994 were accepted, representing 70 percent of all applicants. Conversely, 3,174 candidates were rejected, equivalent to 30 percent of the total applications reviewed.
The Independent Authority also revealed that there are 2,878 substitute candidates whose files are still being processed, indicating the scale of the compensation operations initiated by parties and electoral lists following the rejection decisions, a process that is likely to expand further with the issuance of the final appeals results.
The situation was not much different for electoral districts abroad. The results showed that the authorities reviewed 66 collective candidacy applications, comprising 528 candidates. The process resulted in the acceptance of 10 lists and the rejection of 10 others, while 46 lists remain pending final decision after the appeals process is completed.
The number of accepted candidates abroad reached 364, or 70 percent, compared to 164 rejected candidates, or 30 percent, which is almost the same percentage recorded within the country.
The authority also announced the registration of 100 appeals at the level of the Administrative Court in Algiers for the external districts, at a time when the number of substitute candidates under processing reached 84 candidates.
In closing its statement, the Independent National Election Authority reminded the political parties and independent lists concerned of the need to submit new nominations to replace the rejected candidates before the end of the specified legal deadlines, explaining that the last date for submitting replacement files will be Saturday, June 6, 2026 at midnight.
These figures have reignited the debate surrounding the scale of disqualifications in the current elections, particularly given that 30 percent seems excessively high, prompting several stakeholders to comment on the announced results. In this context, candidate Mohamed Ayouanougan, whose party, the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), was disqualified in the capital, argued that the disqualification rate reaching this level raises questions that extend beyond individual cases.
In a comment he published after the figures were released, he said that “legal experts know that deterrence affects abnormal acts, that is, exceptional cases,” adding that the fact that the percentage of those excluded reached 30 percent means that the problem may be related to the law itself or the way it is applied, and not just to the candidates who exercised their constitutional right to run for office.
This debate comes at a time when political parties are experiencing an unprecedented mobilization to restructure their electoral lists. With a series of rejections, many parties have found themselves compelled to seek alternatives within a short timeframe, while also having to finalize and submit the files of new candidates before the legal deadlines expire.
In several states, the replacement process has become a race against time, especially for lists that have faced multiple disqualifications simultaneously. Some parties also face the added challenge of awaiting the outcome of legal appeals, forcing them to prepare replacement candidates in case a final decision upholds the disqualifications.
Some parties face an additional difficulty in waiting for the results of the judicial appeals, which forces them to prepare alternative candidates in anticipation of any final decision that supports the rejection.
The controversy had escalated in recent days after pro-government and opposition parties, along with independent lists, announced the exclusion of a number of their candidates based on the provisions of Article 200 of the Elections Law.
These developments have prompted several parties to express reservations about the way the aforementioned article is being implemented. The Workers' Party, for example, called on President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to suspend its application, arguing that its scope has been broadened considerably and has led to the disqualification of candidates against whom no final court rulings have been issued.
The Socialist Forces Front also expressed its rejection of what it described as the arbitrary exclusion of a number of its candidates inside and outside the country, demanding a review of the rejection decisions and enabling those concerned to exercise their full political rights.
Meanwhile, the Movement for a Peaceful Society and the New Generation Party were among the groups that expressed concern about the increasing number of rejections, arguing that this necessitates a broader discussion on how to apply the legal texts regulating candidacy.
Article 200 of the electoral law, which led to most disqualifications, stipulates that a candidate must not be “known to the public for their ties to dubious financial and business circles and for influencing, directly or indirectly, the free choice of voters and the proper conduct of the electoral process.” Another article, concerning the ethics of political life, was added to the justifications for disqualification, but its critics considered it too broadly worded.
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