Algeria’s incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been re-elected with nearly 95 percent of the vote, according to the country’s electoral authority, ANIE, on Sunday.
“Out of 5,630,000 registered voters, 5,320,000 cast their ballots for independent candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune, representing 94.65 percent of the vote,” ANIE head Mohamed Charfi announced during a press briefing in the capital, Algiers.
Tebboune, 78, was widely expected to win a second term, facing moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani, 57, and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, 41.
Charfi described the election as “marked by broad transparency” and said it “reflected the electoral maturity of the people.” However, he did not disclose the official voter turnout, which was seen as a key challenge for Tebboune in an election where his victory was largely anticipated.
Tebboune had aimed for a higher turnout compared to 2019, when he was elected amid a record low participation rate, with over 60 percent of voters abstaining, in the wake of widespread boycotts and Hirak pro-democracy protests.
Earlier in the day, ANIE reported a “provisional” turnout of 48 percent but did not provide details on how many of the registered voters had participated. Voting had been extended by an hour in anticipation of a higher turnout, though by 5:00 pm, participation was reported at 26 percent, down from 33 percent at the same time in the 2019 election.
Hassani’s campaign criticized the turnout figures as “strange” and accused ANIE of attempting to “inflate the results.” Hassani leads the moderate Islamist Movement of Society for Peace, while Aouchiche is affiliated with the center-left Socialist Forces Front.