Five candidates will run in the upcoming presidential election in Algeria, scheduled on 12 December, as announced by Mohamed Chorfi, head of the election authority. The five candidates include former prime ministers Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Ali Benflis, former culture minister Azzeddine Mihoubi, former tourism minister Abdelkader Bengrine and Abdelaziz Belaid, head of the El Mostakbal Movement Party. The five candidates are the only ones out of a list of 23 applicants who met the requirements to run for the ballot, which include collecting signatures from 25 out of the 48 provinces of the country. Protesters continue opposing the holding of the elections, wary of the return to power of allies of former president Bouteflika.