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Algeria: The stakes of a presidential election decided in advance
Algeria: The stakes of a presidential election decided in advance
(Franceinfo)
24 million Algerian voters have been called to the polls since this morning to elect their president. The incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune is the big favorite in the election. More than the election, the issue was participation. It stood at just over 26% on the afternoon of Saturday, September 7. A drop of several points compared to the last elections.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is the big favorite in this election. However, in 2019, he was elected with a very relative majority. Algerians had boycotted the polls by 60%. The country was in the middle of Hirak, demonstrations of unprecedented scale that ended up driving Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power, Abdelmadjid Tebboune having succeeded him. From now on, to legitimize his mandate, participation is the key. Algerians and especially the youth remain divided: “Tebboune has done things, yes, but he is only continuing his old program”, analyzes a young Algerian citizen.
On Saturday, September 7 at 5 p.m., the turnout was 26.46%, down seven points from 2019. Polling stations therefore closed later at 8 p.m. to allow latecomers to cast their ballots. Facing Abdelmadjid Tebboune were two candidates: Abdelaali Hassani, a public works engineer and head of the MSP, the main Islamist party, and Youcef Aouchiche, a former journalist and senator, head of the FFS, the oldest opposition party.
