On September 7, 2024, the Algerian people are once again called upon to ratify a presidential election that is a foregone conclusion. Indeed, the conditions for an honest, transparent and free election are still not met and there is no doubt that the outgoing president will remain in office. In this unprecedented context of repression and the closure of the political and media field, popular sovereignty will once again be confiscated, which will perpetuate the crisis of political legitimacy of power inherited since independence.
Since February 2019, the Algerian people have not ceased to express, unequivocally and in all its diversity, their desire for change for the recovery of their sovereignty and the establishment of a democratic rule of law. The momentum of the historic movement of February 2019 was broken by the proponents of an obsolete, “bunkerized” political system, without vision, repressive and struck by a structural inability to respond to the popular aspirations of breaking with the old order to open up to a new destiny.
Faced with this electoral deadline announced in a context of serious authoritarian drift, we, Algerian citizens of the diaspora, faithful to the fundamentals of the Hirak, have decided to speak out again to demand:
— The change demanded by the people which involves a democratic transition, the only way to allow the restitution of sovereignty to the people and to give substance to the collective hope expressed by the Hirak, and by the youth in particular.
— An end to repression and the strategy of terror by repealing all repressive laws, such as Article 87 bis and the latest provisions of the Penal Code, as well as by lifting restrictions on trade union freedoms, freedom of information and freedom of association.
— The release of all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners with the recovery of all their rights; the cessation of harassment and legal proceedings for crimes of conscience; respect for freedom of movement at the borders.
— Respect for fundamental individual and collective freedoms as well as international texts ratified by Algeria relating to civil, political, economic and social rights.
— The right to exercise effective citizenship to ensure participation in the management of the country’s affairs so that we can best face political, socio-economic and cultural challenges as well as geostrategic risks.
Algerian citizens, this policy of total repression and contempt for the people is as intolerable as it is unacceptable and silence is no longer permitted.
With this call, we reject the choice that this political system imposes on us: enslavement, silence, prison or exile. Algeria is our country, in which we want to live freely, express ourselves without fear, work with dignity, create without constraints, travel without apprehension and publicly demonstrate our opinions and positions as well as our support for oppressed peoples, including the Palestinian people, who are suffering genocide.
Repressed, deprived of our fundamental freedoms and unable to freely choose the person who will preside over the destiny of our country, we must act on the issue of participation by massively, peacefully and visibly rejecting this electoral farce in order to act as a break with this bankrupt political system. The necessary change through the construction of a balance of power requires the union of Algerians who have spoken out for the democratic transition in order to put the country back on its historical trajectory, initiated by the national liberation struggles and reaffirmed by the Hirak in February 2019.
Based on respect for all existing pluralisms, this union is an imperative to resolve the current political impasse and put an end to this dangerous headlong rush that is severely testing our people while creating serious dangers for the future of the country. Our duty as a diaspora is to support and accompany any initiative that is in line with the spirit of the Hirak.
More than a political responsibility, it is a unifying patriotic approach that aims to be worthy of the unifying work of the organizers of the summit of August 20, 1956, whose upcoming celebration reminds us of its decisive unifying role in the liberation of the country. Let us live up to the sacrifices of our elders and the hope of our children, by building a genuine democratic solution in line with the aspirations of the Algerian people for “a free and democratic Algeria.”
* Signed this letter: Abdelli Mohand, engineer — Canada; Abes Sonia, academic — France; Aboudi Bachir, engineer — Canada; Addi Lahouari, professor emeritus of political sociology — France; Aïnouche Ghilas, press cartoonist — France; Ait Ali Hakim, academic — France; Ait Bachir Ahmed, retired — France; Ait Bachir Mahmen, entrepreneur — France; Ait Ouferoukh Mouloud, Engineering Document Controller / Document Management Lead — Canada; Akrouf Sanhadja, feminist activist — France; Allal Tewfik, community activist — France; Amar Khodja Youcef, engineer — France; Amarouche Belkacem, lawyer in European law — Belgium; Ameur Faiza, IT analyst — Canada; Ammour Ghenima, poet — France; Arabi Mohand, teacher — Canada; Arbane Samir, procurement director — Canada; Baghdad Djamel, doctor of chemistry — Canada; Bakir Mohand, citizen — France; Baouz Tassadit, retired — former member of the FLN French Federation — France; Baraka Malika, cardiologist — France; Beddiari Salah, writer — Canada; Belhadj Mohamed, physician — Canada; Ben Mamar Ouerdia, teacher — France; Benamara Amara, taxi driver — France; Benani Radia, entrepreneur — Canada; Benchenouf Djameledine, journalist — France; Benhaddadi Rachid, professor — Canada; Benhadj Karim, engineer — Canada; Benhami Lyazid, writer — France; Bensadek Aziz, community activist — France; Bensadek Tayeb, retired civil servant — Canada; Benyounes Khaled, retired — France; Bouaou Krimo, engineer — Canada; Bouraoui Amira, gynecologist — France; Bouteldji Ahmed, mechanical engineer — France; Chabanis Malika, physician — Canada; Challal Hamid, economist — France; Chemrouk Azwaw, manager — France; Cherbi Massensen, Constitutionalist — Tunisia Chetouani Youcef, geologist — France; Chikhoune Abdelmoumene, trader — Austria; Dahak Bachir, lawyer — France; Dermouche Adem, student — France; Derridj Rani, retired — France; Djebaili Lyes, engineer economist — France; Djouaher Saliha, teacher — Canada; Dutour Nassera, president of the CFDA — France; Esseghir Amine, writer — Canada; Farrah Raouf, researcher in geopolitics — Tunisia; Gasmi Hocine, journalist — France; Haddad Nacer, retired — France; Hadj-Moussa Ratiba, professor of sociology — York University Toronto — Canada; Hadjabi Wassyla, graduate in biochemistry and industrial relations — Canada; Halimi Jihed, computer scientist — Canada; Hamaoui Ines, community activist — France; Hammachin Rabah, university professor — Canada; Hamourit Omar, historian — France; Hannache Zaki, whistleblower and human rights defender — Canada; Haouchine Ali, political scientist — Canada; Hareb Khelifa, civil servant — Canada; Hassani Louenas, writer — Canada; Hidouci Ghazi, former Minister of Economy — France; Ighemat Arezki, retired professor of economics — USA Ikken Sofiance, social inspector — Canada; Kaci Lounas, retired — Canada; Kaci Mehdi, data quality specialist — USA; Kaidi Ali, writer and journalist — Canada; Kermiche Saad, risk assessment expert — Canada; Kezouit Omar, researcher in decolonial and social history — France; Khalfoune Tahar, lecturer in public law, University of Lyon 3 — France; Kichou Ali, visual artist — Canada; Lahouazi Ilyes, aircraft chief — France; Lellou Hamid, conflict resolution analyst and certified mediator — United States; Mahiou Ahmed, former dean of the Faculty of Law of Algiers and former director of IREMAM — France; Mansouri Khaled, bank official — Canada; Mechakra Asma, scientific researcher — Switzerland; Mekdam Ahviv, school teacher — France; Mettouchi Hanane, legal interpreter-translator — France; Mohammedi Adlene, researcher and teacher in geopolitics — France; Moktefi Kamel, toxicologist — Canada; Nait Ouslimane Karim, university lecturer — France; Ouali Abdelghani, liberal profession — France; Oualli Mohand, association leader — France; Ouchiha Abdelkader, health professional — Canada; Oulamara Aomer, physicist, writer — France; Ourad Meziane, journalist — France; Outerbah Chafia, administrative executive — France; Rabia Lyes, physician — France; Rezzoug Youcef, journalist — France; Saada Karim, musician — Canada; Saïghi Djaballah, engineer — Canada; Salhi Mourad, expert and international specialist in railway safety — Switzerland; Salhi Said, human rights defender — France; Saoudi Rabah, teacher, writer — France; Seniguer Haoues, lecturer in political science — Sciences Po Lyon — France; Seridj Mélinda, doctoral student in history — France; Serkhane Salim, journalist — United Kingdom; Si Ahmed Sidi Menad, United Nations climate expert — Austria; Sidhoum Hakim, Web and e-commerce director — Canada; Takesri Tahar, electronics engineer — Canada; Talahit Fatiha, economist — CNRS researcher — France; Tamene Zineb, lawyer — France; Tiza Fatma, teacher — Canada; Yahi Khelifa, engineer — France; Yahiaoui Aomar, teacher — Canada; Ziane Farida, master in public communications — Canada; Zirem Youssef, writer — France.