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Algerian presidential election: results expected, Tebboune expected to win
Algerians are awaiting the results of the previous day’s presidential election on Sunday, which should result in the unsurprising re-election of Abdelmadjid Tebboune for a second term, following a vote marked by low turnout, even though it officially improved compared to 2019. The president of the electoral authority Anie, Mohamed Charfi, announced on the night of Saturday to Sunday and with a three-hour delay, “an average turnout of 48.03% at the closing of the polling stations at 8:00 p.m.” (7:00 p.m. GMT), without specifying the number of voters compared to the more than 24 million registered voters. He mentioned “a preliminary figure”, with a final rate expected on Sunday with the results of the vote. Participation was the real issue of the vote, Mr. Tebboune wanting to be re-elected as “a normal president, not a badly elected president” like five years ago, according to Hasni Abidi, analyst and director of the Cermam Study Center in Geneva. In December 2019, Mr. Tebboune was elected with 58% of the vote but a participation rate of only 39.83% (60% abstention), in a context marked by the hostility of the pro-democracy demonstrators of Hirak, who had just chased from power, with the army, his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and against a backdrop of calls for a boycott of many political parties. Faced with a low turnout during the day on Saturday, and an official “average participation rate” of around 26% at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT) against 33% Five years ago, the Anie had decided to extend the opening of polling stations by one hour. Facing the outgoing president, two candidates were in the running: Abdelaali Hassani, a 57-year-old engineer, head of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP, the main Islamist party) and Youcef Aouchiche, 41, a former journalist and senator, head of the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS, the oldest opposition party). Mr. Tebboune was the clear favorite even before the outcome of the vote, benefiting from the support of four major parties, including the National Liberation Front (FLN, former single party). The three candidates have assured that they want to improve purchasing power and revive the economy, so that it is less dependent on hydrocarbons (95% of foreign currency revenues). – “Political maturity” – Aided by the natural gas windfall of which Algeria is the leading African exporter, Mr. Tebboune has promised to increase salaries and pensions, two million new homes and 450,000 new jobs, to make Algeria “the second economy in Africa”, behind South Africa. Around 24.5 million voters, a third of whom are under 40, out of 45 million inhabitants, were summoned. In television and AFP images, young people were rather rare in the polling stations, despite free public transport and urgent calls from Mr. Tebboune’s competitors to go and vote. For Mr. Abidi, the low turnout can be explained by a “mediocre campaign” with few meetings and Mr. Tebboune’s competitors “not up to the task”. Voters said to themselves “what’s the point of voting if all the predictions are in favor of the president”, according to the expert who emphasized the “political maturity” of Algerians. After his probable re-election, Mr. Tebboune “will survive a deficit of popular support but on condition that he completely reviews his method of governance and makes changes to his team”, Mr. Abidi estimated. Failing that, the “deficit of democracy” in his record could constitute a handicap in a new mandate, added the analyst. If Mr. Tebboune did not mention this issue, his rivals promised more rights and freedoms during their campaign. In particular, the FFS candidate who pledged to “free prisoners of conscience through an amnesty and to review unjust laws” on terrorism or the media. The NGO Amnesty International accused the government this week of continuing to “stifle civic space by maintaining a severe repression of human rights”, with “new arbitrary arrests” and “a zero tolerance approach to dissenting opinions”. According to the National Committee for the Liberation of Prisoners (CNLD, Algerian), dozens of people linked to the Hirak or the defense of freedoms are still imprisoned or prosecuted.bur/fka/bfi
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