ALGIERS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Algerian Constitutional Council has announced that it would be impossible to hold presidential election on July 4 as scheduled as key political parties and figures are boycotting it.
Analysts, however, pointed to a pressing need for dialogue among all sides to break the political standoff in the North African country that has been continuing since Feb. 22.
In a statement, the Council said the files submitted by the two candidates Abdelhakim Hammadi, a doctor specializing in pharmacy, and Hamid Touahri, a retired aircraft maintenance engineer, in late May had been rejected as both did not meet requirements.
"Dialogue must be activated in order to overcome the impasse and hold a fair and transparent presidential election," Mohamed al-Bashir, an Algerian political analyst, told Xinhua.
"There has to be a way to lead us to an all-encompassing dialogue over the future and nature of the political system," Bashir added.
Abdelkarim Maysoura, a professor of constitutional law, told Xinhua that the Council had issued an edict to extend the tenure of interim President Abdelkader Bensalah until July 9.
Major parties in Algeria, including the ruling National Liberation Front, all declined to field candidates for the planned election.
Meanwhile, the protesters assert that figures from the regime of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, mainly Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, should not lead the transitional period, let alone oversee the presidential election.
According to the law, a candidate has to garner at least 600 signatures from elected members of municipal or provincial councils or 60,000 signatures from citizens from 25 out of 48 Algerian provinces.
Last week, Algerian Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah called for a "serious and constructive dialogue" to find quick solution for the crisis within the framework of mutual concessions.
Algeria could afford no more delays as the country needs a constitutional way to save it from spiralling into any more troubles, Salah pointed out.
