Five candidates for Algeria’s presidency launched their campaigns, Sunday, in the run up to the polls’ scheduled date, 12 December. Article 173 of the Algerian Electoral Law stipulates that “the electoral campaign shall precede the voting date by 25 days and end three days before the same date, which is referred to as the electoral silence”. This means that the electoral campaign continues for 21 days. Three candidates chose the south-western province of Adrar, which borders Mali and Mauritania, to launch popular festive events, as part of their campaigns. The candidates mentioned above are former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune, head of the Front El Moustakbel (Future Front) party, Abdelaziz Belaid, and Secretary-General of the National Democratic Rally (RND), Azzedine Mihoubi. Former Prime Minister Ali Benflis, Secretary-General of the Vanguard of Freedoms, has launched his electoral campaign in Tlemcen, northern Algeria, the hometown of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who was ousted by a popular uprising months ago. The electoral campaign of Abdelkader Ben Kreina, head of National Building Movement (Islamic), was initiated in the Algerian capital, where the party held discussions with citizens. The Algerian presidential elections are being held for the first time under the supervision of an independent election authority, recovering the role of organising and announcing the results from the Ministry of Interior and previous committees composed of judges and party representatives, designated to observe the demarche of the electoral race. On Saturday, the presidential candidates signed the electoral practice’s moral code, which bound the signatories to respect the rules of the electoral race and avoid accusing opponents and issuing inciting statements against them. The upcoming presidential elections in Algeria are the culmination of nearly nine months of a popular movement that began on 22 February, which led to ousting former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in early April and cancelling two election dates, previously designated on 18 April and 4 July. This electoral race deepened the rupture between supporters of the presidential elections, saying that the only way to get out of the crisis will be to choose a president, who can implement reform demands. Oppositionists called for postponing the elections on the grounds that “the conditions are not favourable to hold an electoral contest on this date”. They argued that these presidential elections would constitute a rejuvenation of the old regime.