Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, the candidate of the Islamist Mouvement de la Société pour la Paix (Movement of Society for Peace), authorized to participate in Algeria's September 7 presidential elections, has criticized Morocco, according to local media reports. Speaking in Tlemcen, a town near the kingdom's borders, Cherif declared at an election rally on Saturday that «our problem is with the Makhzen regime, which has historically conspired against us». He emphasized that «the alliance between Morocco and the Zionist entity poses a threat to Algeria's security, given the Zionist entity's presence on our western borders». Echoing the official narrative, the leader of Algeria's leading Islamist party stressed that «foreign forces are plotting against the country. The Algerian people are aware of the scale of these plots and understand the importance of preserving their independence and national sovereignty». The Movement of Society for Peace was established in the early 1990s by the Algerian government to counter the influence and popularity of the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front). Abdelaali Hassani Cherif succeeded Abderrazak Makri as the head of the MSP in March 2023.
