Hope, tension mark kickoff of Algerian election campaign

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Candidates hopeful of winning one of the 407 seats in the Algerian parliament have kicked off campaigning for legislative elections in June under a new system meant to weed out corruption and open voter rolls. The changes are a major step in President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s promise of a “new Algeria.” An unprecedented number of candidates are running on nearly 1,500 lists for the North African nation’s 58 regions. But a crackdown on the pro-democracy Hirak movement has cast a pall over presidential efforts to give a new face to a nation whose army plays a backseat role in governance. Hundreds were arrested during a march last week, and security officers stopped crowds from gathering Friday.