More than 24 million Algerian voters are casting their ballots on Saturday in a presidential election expected to see the current President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 78, win a second term, with the focus on voter turnout being particularly significant.

 

- Results timing -

Polling stations will close at 19:00 GMT, with preliminary results expected to be announced on Saturday evening and official results to be released on Sunday.

 

Incumbent President Tebboune enjoys support from the majority of parliamentary parties, notably the National Liberation Front (FLN), the former ruling party, and the National Construction Movement, whose candidate came second in the 2019 elections. This support boosts his chances of re-election.

 

- Candidates -

Tebboune faces two challengers: Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, 57, head of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), and Youcef Aouchiche, 41, the leader of the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) party, the oldest opposition party in Algeria based in the Kabylia region.

 

- Election rescheduling -

The election was originally scheduled to take place at the end of Tebboune’s term in December but was moved to September 7.

 

It is worth noting that the previous election, which brought Tebboune to power five years ago, saw a low voter turnout of 60 percent amid the widespread Hirak Movement protests demanding democracy, with Tebboune securing 58 percent of the vote.

 

- Overseas voting -

Since mid-August, Tebboune, his supporters, and his rivals have been touring the country, urging voters to participate despite low public interest in the campaign due to the summer heat.

 

Algerian voters residing abroad, numbering 865,490, began casting their votes on Monday, according to the National Independent Authority for Elections (ANIE).

 

Mobile polling stations have also been set up for voters in remote areas.

 

- Campaign focus -

Candidates concentrated their campaigns on social and economic issues.

 

Tebboune promised to increase wages and pensions, provide unemployment benefits, build two million homes, boost investments to create 400,000 jobs, and elevate Algeria's economy to become the second largest in Africa after South Africa.

 

In the final stretch of his campaign, Tebboune pledged to support the youth, who make up half the population and a third of the electorate, and to complete the "New Algeria" project, noting that his first term faced challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

- Opposition promises -

In contrast, his opponents have promised to enhance freedoms.

 

Aouchiche committed to releasing political prisoners through a presidential pardon and reviewing laws.

 

Meanwhile, Cherif focused on defending freedoms, highlighting the decline of the popular movement that ousted former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019.