Algeria arrests dozens over alleged election fraud

ALGIERS: A court in Algiers said on Monday that three rejected presidential candidates were placed under “judicial supervision” while another 68 people, including elected officials, were temporarily detained as part of an investigation into electoral fraud.

They are suspected of being involved in “signature sales” for the upcoming presidential election set for September 7. Candidates are required to gather large numbers of them to be eligible to stand. “Sixty-eight defendants were placed in temporary detention, three were placed under judicial supervision, and six were released after hearings,” the court said in a statement.

Last week, Lotfi Boudjemaa, attorney general at the Court of Algiers, told state news agency APS that “more than 50 elected officials” admitted to having unlawfully received money to endorse presidential candidates.

On Monday, the three candidates placed under judicial supervision were named as Saida Neghza, former minister Belkacem Sahli, and a relatively unknown hopeful named Abdelhakim Hamadi. While they are not under arrest, they will be required to regularly check in with the authorities until after the investigation is concluded.