The Secretary-General of the National Democratic Rally Party, Monzer Boudin, today, Saturday, during his activation of a popular gathering in the state of Setif, touched on the issue of the audio recording of the party official in Constantine, which sparked widespread controversy during the past week, and prompted the governor to issue an official clarification about the “administration’s neutrality” towards the elections and “involving him in a matter that has nothing to do with it.”
The party official stated that “the activist and brother Issam Bahri, secretary of the state office in Constantine, is an authentic fighter with a history that the people of Constantine attest to before the fighters of the National Democratic Rally.” The spokesman also did not deny the incident.
The politician pointed out that, “Since the first moments of the appearance of the suspicious audio recording attributed to the local party official, we have been trying to understand the issue,” adding that they noticed that “the recording is truncated and the result of a clear lure, despite the presence of irresponsible talk in it.”
Boden drew public opinion’s attention to the fact that the Parties Law allows parties to receive contributions, provided that these contributions are made transparently through the party’s official accounts.
The spokesman explained, “Candidates on electoral lists can legally contribute to the financial effort of the electoral campaign, with a maximum amount of 250 million centimes, as permitted by law.”
Boden accused unnamed parties of “despicable exploitation of this recording,” recalling that the law criminalizes unlicensed recordings.
Boden admitted that there was irresponsible talk, but “we cannot ignore the fact that the recording is distorted and is trying to confuse the electoral process.”
As a solution to this crisis, the Secretary-General revealed that the state official had requested the exemption “after years of good conduct and loyal struggle.” He continued: “However, we have not yet decided the final decision that must be taken in this case.”
In what looked like a rebuke, the spokesman said: “If we tolerate such methods, we will encourage despicable practices and attempts at lure and manipulation that target political life and the electoral process.”
Boden placed the issue in the context of the promise of transparency, saying: “And here we are today addressing you with all transparency, frankness and courage, and putting before you everything that affects us, because we are honest and do not hide anything from our activists and public opinion.”
The politician expressed sympathy for his activist, saying: “I will not easily abandon the members of the National Democratic Rally, as they are the party’s asset and its main pillar, and we are keen to preserve them and value their efforts unless it is definitely proven that they are involved in violating the laws of the republic.”
In a menacing manner, Boden said: “Any loyal secretary who is definitively proven to have been involved in despicable or immoral practices will not remain in the party for an additional minute, but in return we will not be led into machinations or despicable behavior that aims to disrupt and undermine internal stability.”
An audio recording of a call between the state secretary of the party, who serves as the head of the state People’s Assembly, and his interlocutor, sparked widespread controversy, as it included the mention of the governor’s name during a conversation about preparing for the electoral process and allocating seats and rankings on lists in return.
This issue falls within the context of the effort to “separate dirty money from politics,” which was adopted by the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and translated into public policies and legislation.
