Algerian activists announced a list nominating a military officer for the 2019 presidential elections, while former Prime Minister Ali Benflis said he met with US Ambassador John P. Desrocher to discuss the polls. The activists called on retired general Ali Ghadiri to run for president, saying he was the “author of ideas that include the birth of the second republic of a new Algeria, in which citizens will enjoy just and equal rights and duties, freedom of opinion and freedom of initiative.” Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that those behind the list were former military officials and intellectuals supportive of Ghadiri, following a sharp and repeated campaign against him by the military, over his alleged criticism of the institution’s involvement in the rule. The Ministry of Defense enacted a law in 2016, which requires retired military personnel to refrain from engaging in political life and provides for “deprivation of military rank” if any military figure got involved in political affairs. The activists called on Ghadiri “to announce his candidacy for the elections” expected to be held in four months, asking all Algerian factions to support this call on social networking sites. Meanwhile, Benflis said he met with Desrocher to discuss the presidential elections. In a statement, Benflis underlined the necessity to hold the polls within the constitutional time frame. He added that the event “can be an opportunity to give the sovereign people a voice by organizing their own election and thus pave the way for a peaceful consensual solution to the global crisis now troubling our country.”