Algeria to hold presidential election on December 12: Interim President

Weekly mass demonstrations forced veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April, leaving Algeria in constitutional limbo and facing a stand-off between the protesters and the army-backed government.

An independent electoral commission will be formed to oversee the upcoming election. The army, the strongest institution in Algeria, earlier sought for a presidential election as soon as possible to break the deadlock between the protesters and the authorities.

Algeria is a key gas supplier to Europe and it is a U.S. partner in its fight against militant Islamist groups in the Sahara and Sahel regions.