ALGIERS, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Polls have closed in Algeria where a contentious presidential election, boycotted by tens of thousands of protesters nationwide and dismissed as a “sham,” was held.
Anti-riot police were deployed early on Thursday to block access to Maurice Audin Square and the iconic Grand Post office in central Algiers, the epicentre of the months-long protests demanding the departure of the old guard and an overhaul of the political system.
Voter turnout stood at 33 percent at 5pm local time (16:00 GMT), just two hours before polls closed, according to Algeria’s independent election monitoring authority. More than 24 million people are eligible to vote.
In a tense Algiers, demonstrators chanted slogans such as “There is no vote today,” Independence” and “No vote with the mafia” as they fought off attempts by security forces to disperse the crowds.
In Kabylie, a northern mountainous region with a long history of government opposition, the demonstrations turned violent as some protesters entered a polling station in Tizi Ouzou, located 125km east of Algiers, tossing ballot papers into the air, according to local media.
Unrest also erupted in Bouira, located some 100km east of Algiers, where protesters set the headquarters of the Algeria’s independent monitoring election authority on fire.
Preliminary results are expected from 23:00 GMT onwards, however, final results likely will not come until at least Friday.
Five candidates are running to replace former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who stepped down in April in the face of months-long protests, for a five-year term: former Prime Ministers Ali Benflis and Abdelamajid Tebboune; former Minister of Tourism Abdelakader Bengrina; former Minister of Culture Azzedine Mihoubi; and head of the el-Moutstakbal party Abdelaziz Belaid.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, who emerged as the country’s de facto leader following Bouteflika’s departure, maintained that the election is the only to break the country’s political deadlock, insisting the army high command will not back any candidate in the race. — NNN-AGENCIES