Presidential election in Algeria has come to an end
Published: Sunday, Sep 8th 2024, 00:40
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After a one-hour extension, the presidential election in Algeria came to an end on Saturday. It could be weeks before the final results are announced.
Instead of closing at 8 p.m. as planned, the polling stations in the North African country did not close until 9 p.m. local time (10 p.m. CEST) due to a very low voter turnout.
By 5 p.m. local time, the turnout had only reached 26.46 percent, according to electoral authority Anie - around seven percentage points lower than at the same time in the previous presidential election in 2019. According to Anie, the opening of polling stations was therefore extended by one hour at the "request of some coordinators". To make voting easier, public transport in Algeria was also free on Saturday.
24 million citizens were called to the polls. Incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune was the clear favorite. According to experts, the 78-year-old had hoped for a high voter turnout after it had reached a record low in his 2019 election: 60% of citizens had not exercised their right to vote at the time.
"He wants to be a normal president, not a barely elected president," explained political scientist Hasni Abidi from the Geneva-based research center Cermam, referring to Tebboune's renewed presidential candidacy.
Tebboune is considered to be set
Tebboune, who rules Algeria with a heavy hand, stood as an independent on Saturday. He is supported by four major political groups, including the former unity party FLN and the Islamist movement Al-Bina, which became the second strongest force in the 2019 presidential election.
His two challengers are considered to have no chance: the candidate and leader of the largest Islamist party MSP is 57-year-old Abdelaali Hassani. His Movement for a Society of Peace boycotted the 2019 election. The third candidate is Youssef Aouchiche, a 41-year-old former journalist and senator. He is the leader of the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), an opposition party from the Berber region of Kabylia, which has boycotted all elections since 1999.
Ban on rallies
In 2019, Algerians took to the streets en masse to protest against another candidacy by the frail President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who had been in office since 1999. The protests, known as "Hirak", continued even after Bouteflika's resignation and the election of Tebboune, his former head of government. Tebboune had hundreds of activists arrested, banned the weekly rallies and cracked down on dissenters with the support of the military.
The human rights organization Amnesty International speaks of a "brutal suppression of human rights" in Algeria and denounces "a zero-tolerance policy towards dissenting opinions" in a "climate of fear and censorship".
©Keystone/SDA
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