Voting in Algerian presidential election ends as Tebboune eyes re-election

Sun 08 September 2024:

Vote count began on Saturday evening as polling for the snap presidential election in Algeria ended at 1900GMT.

The polling stations have closed, and the counting of votes has begun immediately in the presence of the media and representatives of the three candidates, an Anadolu correspondent on the ground reported.

Earlier, the electoral authority extended the voting time by one hour, so the polling stations closed at 1900GMT.

The North African country has more than 24 million registered voters. Over 800,000 Algerians abroad began voting on Sept. 2.

“Today we start building our future by voting for our project and leaving boycott and despair behind us,” Aouchiche said on national television after casting his vote.

Hassani Cherif told journalists he hoped “the Algerian people will vote in force” because “a high turnout gives greater credibility to these elections”.

Algerians abroad have been able to vote since Monday, and the country’s election authority (ANIE) put that turnout at 14.5 percent. The move to extend voting on Saturday came shortly before ANIE announced a turnout of 26 percent nationwide as of 5pm (16:00 GMT).

In June, President Tebboune announced the snap election, initially scheduled for December. He claims to represent all Algerians, particularly the youth, middle class and disadvantaged.

Besides Tebboune, 78, Abdelaali Hassani Cherif from the Movement of Society for Peace and socialist Youcef Aouchiche are also competing.

Cherif, 58, is the leader of Algeria’s largest Islamic party.

Aouchiche, 42, the first secretary of the Socialist Forces Front, Algeria’s oldest opposition party that was founded in 1963, represents the leftist opposition.

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Opposition in Algeria ‘non-existent’

Youcef Bouandel of Qatar University told Al Jazeera that the political opposition in Algeria is almost “non-existent”.

“Everybody would be surprised if Abdelmadjid Tebboune doesn’t win tonight – in the first round of the presidential election,” he said.

Boubaker Sellami, an economist, said that while “investors had no confidence to invest in Algeria previously, that’s beginning to change as our laws are amended and our image changes”.

“The rebound of our economy depends on severing the relationship between corruption, money and politics. And that’s what’s given us a launchpad towards a new economic outlook.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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