Algeria's presidential campaign officially kicked off Sunday with five candidates vying to replace the country's longtime leader, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was pushed out in April amid sustained protests.

Two former prime ministers, Ali Benflis and Abdelmadjid Tebboune, are among those running in the December 12 election.

Benflis and Tebboune are considered the favorites of the vote.

The other candidates are: former tourism minister and moderate Islamist Abdelkader Bengrina; former culture minister and current interim secretary of the RND party that was in the governing coalition, Azzedine Mihoubi; and Belaid Abdelaziz, who heads the small El Moustakbel (Future) party that's close to the FLN, both of which remain part of the ruling coalition.

In some neighborhoods of Algiers, protesters have hung black trash bags on billboards featuring the candidates' portraits, often sprayed with the words "election of shame" and "traitors.”

Benflis said this week that "this election is not held in ideal conditions, I know that, but I consider it is the shorter and less risky path to get Algeria out of the political impasse caused by the former regime.”

Tebboune acknowledged the "special climate" of the electoral process. Speaking on television earlier this month, he justified his candidacy by saying he wanted to "put Algeria back on good tracks.”

"Some Algerians are against the election, but I know a majority are for it," he said.

Army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has emerged as the country's authority figure, repeatedly vowed that "all security conditions will be met so that Algerians can fulfill their electoral duty in full serenity.”