September 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Algeria’s presidential election ended on Saturday after being held for an hour longer than expected, after the electoral body announced a seven-point drop in the turnout rate by 5:00 p.m. (local time), although the candidates welcomed the “good performance.”
The vote count began at the closing of polling stations across the country, which took place at 8:00 p.m. (local time) on Saturday instead of 7:00 p.m., after the Independent National Electoral Authority (ANIE) announced it.
The electoral body justified this measure by the high temperatures recorded in the country, which would have influenced the participation, preventing voters from going to the polling stations during the hottest parts of the day.
According to its president, the participation rate was, at 5:00 p.m. (local time), 26.45 percent nationwide and 18.31 percent among the national community residing abroad.
This figure represents a seven-point drop compared to the figure recorded in the 2019 presidential elections, which was 33.06 percent, according to data provided by the electoral body.
Regardless of the numbers, the election day was uneventful and all three candidates expressed their satisfaction in this regard.
“The vote took place in good conditions, according to reports received by the monitoring and coordination unit of the national office of the candidates, which allowed Algerian voters to freely choose their next president,” said Samir Aggoune, communications coordinator for the campaign of candidate for re-election Abdelmayid Tebune.
In statements reported by the Algerian state agency APS, the campaign team of the candidate of the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), Youcef Aouchiche, welcomed the “good development” of the electoral day, despite “some isolated oversights” that have not affected the process.
The campaign manager for the Peace Society Movement (MSP) candidate, Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, also mentioned “some isolated incidents”, without giving further details but assuring that “these were reported and brought to the attention of ANIE”. Despite this, he stressed that the vote took place in “a normal atmosphere marked by a calm turnout of citizens”.
Algeria held presidential elections on Saturday, with the current president, Abdelmayid Tebune, the clear favourite, given the absence of any significant alternatives and new calls for a boycott from opposition ranks, which once again seek to reflect the growing popular discontent in a low turnout rate.
Tebune, 78, took office after elections in 2019, which ended a brief transition period after long-time leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in April amid massive protests against his plans to run for a fifth term despite being barred from office due to health problems.
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