17 million Algerians will elect new president on April 15

The Algerian ambassador in Cairo, Mostafa Sherif, said today in a statement to Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram that the nominees for the Algerian presidency are receiving equal coverage in the official mass media.

He said the country presents equal support for the election campaign, so the last word belongs to the Algerian people who will choose freely the new president on April 15.

Concerning the participation of international observers in following up on the electoral process, Sherif said most of the political institutions in his country doesn't support their attendance in light of strong guarantees current Algerian President Liamine Zeroual gave, but in the same context Algeria welcomes journalists from all over the world to follow up on elections.

He also said the ministry of interior reviewed the list of electoral department and estimated eligable voters at 17.4 million distributed among 40,000 voting bureaus. He said the electoral lists were distributed a long time ago among the representatives of nominees.