Algerian President Tebboune Wins Re-Election for Second Term

In the recent presidential election in Algeria, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been declared the winner, securing another term to lead the gas-rich nation. This development comes five years after a wave of pro-democracy protests resulted in the removal of his predecessor.

On Sunday, Algeria’s independent election authority reported that Tebboune received an overwhelming 94 percent of the votes. His nearest competitors, Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, received a mere 3 percent and 2.1 percent of the votes, respectively. This outcome aligns with predictions made by both international observers and Algerian analysts.

Despite Tebboune’s significant victory margin, there are growing concerns regarding public support, as less than six million of the 24 million eligible voters participated in the election. This trend of low voter turnout continues from his first term, raising questions about the legitimacy of his mandate.

The percentage of votes secured by Tebboune far exceeds that of leaders in other countries, such as Vladimir Putin in Russia, who garnered 87 percent in the March elections, and Ilham Aliyev from Azerbaijan with 92 percent in February. However, it’s important to note that, unlike those countries, independent observers were not allowed in Algeria, and any observing attempts were met with arrests in Azerbaijan.

Tebboune’s latest electoral triumph overshadowed his previous victory in 2019, where he won 58 percent of the votes with his closest rival securing 17 percent. Nevertheless, the official figures for turnout were not confirmed by Sunday afternoon, leading to discrepancies between the preliminary numbers released and the figures offered by the election authority late on Saturday night, which reported a 48 percent turnout within the country and only 19.6 percent from overseas polling stations.

Algeria, being Africa’s largest country, has a population of nearly 45 million, making it the second most populous country on the continent after South Africa poised to conduct presidential elections in 2024. This election cycle is notable as it represents a portion of the more than 50 elections scheduled globally, impacting over half of the world’s population.

During the election campaign, various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, voiced strong criticisms regarding the repression experienced by opposition groups, media outlets, and civil society organizations. Activists claimed that the election merely serves to reinforce the existing political framework rather than providing a genuine democratic opportunity.

Despite these challenges, both Tebboune and his challengers encouraged voter participation, making appeals particularly aimed at the youth demographic, which constitutes a significant portion of the population and faces high levels of poverty and unemployment.

The reported provisional voter turnout indicated an uptick compared to the last election cycle five years ago, where Tebboune first ascended to the presidency amid widespread boycotts from pro-democracy advocates following the ousting of his predecessor.

Boosting voter participation was a key objective for all candidates this election cycle. While each of the candidates advocated for increased political engagement, activists and certain political factions sustained calls for a boycott, fearing that the election would only solidify the entrenched political order.

As the election results unfolded, the atmosphere became tense, with opposition parties highlighting issues regarding the reporting of electoral records and questioning the validity of the processes involved. After the announcement of Tebboune’s overwhelming victory, his adversaries expressed concerns over delays in results and claimed irregularities in vote counting.

In a statement released on Sunday, Ahmed Sadok, the campaign manager for Cherif, emphasized these concerns, citing a lack of transparency in delivering vote-sorting records to the candidates’ representatives. He reported incidents of proxy voting and instances where pressure was applied to election workers to inflate numbers.