Algeria’s Tebboune wins second term amid low turn out

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been re-elected for a with almost 95% of the vote, the electoral authority ANIE said Sunday, according to AFP. Tebboune, who was expected to win a second five-year term in Saturday’s election, ran against moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani, who received 3.17% of the vote, and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who garnered 2.16%. Tebboune’s main goal was to boost voter turnout, which had seen a record abstention rate of over 60% in 2019’s election. 

While ANIE reported a provisional turnout of 48%, all three campaigns, including Tebboune’s, issued a joint statement pointing out “vagueness and contradictions in the participation figures”.

Tebboune, who has promoted economic successes such as job creation and wage increases, now faces the challenge of winning over Algeria’s youth, who make up half of the population. Rights groups have criticized his government’s repression of dissent, with Amnesty International highlighting the continued arrests of activists and limitations on political freedoms.