Amid fraud allegations, the six candidates opposed to the establishment frontrunner, Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika, pulled out of Algeria's presidential race yesterday on the eve of the poll.
"We have decided on our collective withdrawal from the presidential elections as well as on the non-recognition of the legitimacy of the results of these elections," Mr Hocine Ait-Ahmed, Mr Abdallah Djaballah, Mr Mouloud Hamrouche, Mr Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, Mr Youcef Khatib and Mr Mokdad Sifi said in a joint statement.
"We note the persistence of the leadership to deny citizens their right to decide their future and to choose their president and we hold it responsible for the consequences," they said.
The six made the announcement after the outgoing president, Mr Liamine Zeroual, refused to see them to discuss their allegations that fraud by the military establishment and other parties would ensure that Mr Bouteflika won the election.
The candidates, who had been locked in talks earlier yesterday, had sought an urgent meeting with Mr Zeroual aimed at preventing Mr Bouteflika from hijacking the election.
The candidates said in a joint statement on Tuesday that they could prove the vote would be rigged in favour of Mr Bouteflika, who has significant backing within the military establishment and from a wide spectrum of parties including moderate Islamist groupings.
They charged that "an operation of fraud" was already under way in advance of polling and demanded that ballots cast early by the uniformed services and by nomads in the south be declared void.
The Interior Minister, Mr Abdelmalek Sellal, dismissed their allegations, saying in a communique they were "aimed at casting doubt on the moral integrity of the state, to foment confusion in public opinion in order to influence an election that benefits from every guarantee of transparency and regularity". No international observers are present for the ballot, which is being overseen by the National Independent Commission Overseeing the Presidential Election (CNISEP), chaired by Mr Mohamed Bedjaoui, an Algerian who is a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Before the six announced their withdrawal, an aide of Mr Bouteflika said: "We are continuing calmly to prepare for the election, without concerning ourselves with all this noise."
When early doubts emerged about Mr Bouteflika's independence, Mr Zeroual said that he was committed to "assuring the credibility of this election, which should take place in democratic conditions".
The former prime minister, Mr Hamrouche, when asked on Monday why Mr Bouteflika himself had not voiced concerns over possible vote-rigging, said: "He doesn't need to if he is the choice of the system that is the instrument of electoral fraud."
Mr Hamrouche added: "If there is fraud in these elections, there will be serious consequences for the country."