El Djaza\u00efr
\nAlgerians are voting in a presidential election in which incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune is expected to easily win a second term. Polling stations opened at 8am (07:00 GMT) on Saturday in the North African country which has more than 24 million registered voters. More than 800,000 Algerians abroad, many in France, began voting on September 2.
\nTebboune, 78, whose government is accused of using new laws to stifle dissent, is heavily favoured to defeat his two challengers \u2013 Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, 57 and Youcef Aouchiche, 41.
\nWhile 15 candidates tried to enter the race, only Hassani Cherif and Aouchiche gathered enough signatures to qualify. Neither seriously opposes the military establishment widely seen as having called the shots since the 1960s.
\nCampaign rallies for the election, which Tebboune\u2019s office moved up from its originally planned date in December, have struggled to generate enthusiasm, partly due to the summer heat. Political commentator Mohamed Hennad said the election\u2019s outcome is a foregone conclusion due to the campaign\u2019s restrictive conditions.
\nEyeing turnout
\nTebboune\u2019s main challenge is to boost turnout, which was less than 40 percent when he won his first term in 2019.
\nTurnout was even lower in the country\u2019s 2021 legislative elections, at about 30 percent. \u201cThe president is keen to have a significant turnout,\u201d said Hasni Abidi, an analyst at the Geneva-based CERMAM study centre. \u201cIt\u2019s his main issue,\u201d he told the AFP news agency.
\nThe low turnout figures in 2019 and 2021 came amid the Hirak pro-democracy protests that toppled Tebboune\u2019s predecessor, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, before they were quashed with ramped-up policing and the jailing of hundreds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
El Djaza\u00efr Algerians are voting in a presidential election in which incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune is expected to easily win a second term. Polling stations opened at 8am (07:00 GMT) on Saturday in the North African country which has more than 24 million registered voters. More than 800,000 Algerians abroad, many in France, began voting on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-429896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n