Algerian citizens will head back to the polls soon. Following the parliamentary elections held last July, the upcoming ballot will determine members for Municipal People’s Assemblies (APC) and Provincial People’s Assemblies (APW). The voting date is scheduled for Saturday, November 28, 2026—a non-working day, shifting away from the customary Thursday election schedule observed in recent cycles.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune signed the presidential decree convening the electorate for this date, with the official text published Sunday in the Official Gazette.
According to Article 1 of the decree, “The electorate is called on Saturday, November 28, 2026, to elect members of the Municipal and Provincial People’s Assemblies.”
In preparation for the contest, an extraordinary revision of voter registries will take place from Sunday, September 6, through Thursday, September 17, 2026.
The National Independent Election Authority (ANIE) has initiated pre-election logistics. On Friday, its newly appointed chief, Saad Arous, led a working session to review operational frameworks for the municipal and provincial ballots. The meeting addressed “the evaluation of proposed provincial coordinators for the upcoming local elections, alongside the establishment and training of election oversight panels, each headed by an ANIE member,” the authority stated in a press release.
ANIE outlined the official electoral timeline as follows: following the voter list updates, the deadline for submitting candidacy files is set for October 8. The official campaign period will launch on November 2 and conclude on November 24.
The timing of the election announcement follows Executive Decree No. 26-282, which establishes constituency boundaries and seat allocations across local and provincial councils.
Crucially, these local elections mark the first held under the expanded administrative redivision, which raised the total number of provinces to 69. This structural overhaul significantly alters seat distributions within both municipal and provincial assemblies.
A total of 2,855 provincial seats are up for contest across the 69 APWs. Under the decree, the newly designated provinces of Bou Saada, Ksar El-Boukhari, and Ain Ouessara will each feature 39 council seats. Meanwhile, the provincial assemblies of Aflou, Barika, El-Kantara, Bir El-Ater, El-Aricha, Ksar Chellala, Massaad, and Labiod Sidi Cheikh will contain 35 seats apiece.
This redistributing also affects municipal assemblies. Within these specific districts, municipal seat allocations include 186 seats across Aflou province, 140 in Barika, 71 in El-Kantara, 71 in Bir El-Ater, 58 in El-Aricha, 106 in Ksar Chellala, 184 in Ain Ouessara, 138 in Massaad, 325 in Ksar El-Boukhari, 369 in Bou Saada, and 97 in Labiod Sidi Cheikh.
Much like the recent parliamentary vote, the local elections will operate under updated electoral regulations and a revised political party framework, following the enactment of new laws governing elections and political organizations.
As a reminder, the last local elections occurred in November 2021, resulting in a substantial victory for the National Liberation Front (FLN), which secured nearly 6,000 seats, followed by the National Democratic Rally (RND).