The provisional voter turnout in Algeria’s September 7 presidential poll stood at 48.03%.
On Saturday morning, many polling stations sat mostly empty. The body overseeing elections eventually extended voting time by an hour and the polls closed at 8 pm local time.
Hajj who voted in Algiers is one of the early birds who answered the call.
Three candidates are contesting in the race.
During the day, members of the government as well as the two opposition candidates urged voters to cast ballots. Only 39.9% of eligible Algerians did in 2019 election.
The campaign — rescheduled to take place during North Africa’s hot summer — was characterised by widespread apathy.
The country’s electoral body, ANIE said provisional results will be announced within 48 hours.
If all candidates expressed their satisfaction with the process late Saturday, the opposition leaders noted isolated “incidents” and have petitioned with the ANIE.
Apathy and dissatisfaction
Activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, have railed against how authorities continue prosecuting those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups.
Some have also denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo.
“Algerians don’t give a damn about this bogus election,” said former Hirak leader Hakim Addad, who was banned from participating in politics three years ago. “The political crisis will persist as long as the regime remains in place. The Hirak has spoken.”
Twenty-six candidates submitted preliminary paperwork to run in the election, although only two were ultimately approved to challenge Tebboune.
Abdelali Hassani Cherif, a 57-year-old head of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace has made populist appeals to Algerian youth, running on the slogan “Opportunity!”
At his polling place Saturday, he thanked his opponents and said it was “an important election for the country’s future.”
Youcef Aouchiche, a 41-year-old former journalist running with the Socialist Forces Front, campaigned on a “vision for tomorrow,” and made appeals to those concerned about human rights and political repression. It’s the first time since 1999 that his party has put forth a candidate.
Voting in Kabylia on Saturday, Aouchiche called on Algerians to break with the system that rules the country “to give young people the confidence to put an end to the despair that drives them to take the boats of death in an attempt to reach the other side of the Mediterranean,” referencing many who elect to migrate to Europe in search of opportunity rather than remain at home.
