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Voting under way in Algeria’s presidential election

07 September 2024 16:10 (UTC +04:00)

Algerians are voting in a presidential election in which incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune is expected to easily win a second term, APA reports citing Al Jazeera.

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.

Tebboune, 78, whose government is accused of using new laws to stifle dissent, is heavily favoured to defeat his two challengers – Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, 57 and Youcef Aouchiche, 41.

While 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.

Campaign rallies for the election, which Tebboune’s office moved up from its originally planned date in December, have struggled to generate enthusiasm, partly due to the summer heat.