The images did not fail to provoke reactions on social networks. On Saturday, September 7, at 8 a.m., the private television channel Echourouk broadcast images of a gathering of clean-shaven young men in front of a school in Telaghma, in the wilaya of M’Sila, in eastern Algeria, with a caption referring to a “large crowd”For some, there is little doubt: these are soldiers, sent there to show the image of a crowd of voters who have come to vote en masse in the presidential election, promised to the outgoing president Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Although it did not fool many people, the image corresponds to the authorities’ wish to see this “election party”according to the formula used by local media, ended with a higher turnout than the 39.8% recorded during the last presidential election, on December 12, 2019, won by Mr. Tebboune – the lowest turnout in the history of this election in Algeria.
In Algiers, this Saturday looked like a Friday, a day of great prayer and rest. The popular enthusiasm hoped for by the authorities was not there. The polling stations, open from 8 am, did not attract the crowds. At 10 am, only 2.28% of Algiers residents had voted, while the national turnout rate barely reached 4.56%, according to figures from the National Independent Authority for Elections (ANIE). A slow start, usual in large cities, where there is often a surge in turnout at the end of the day. In all, more than twenty-four million voters, including more than 865,000 abroad, were called to the polls. Among them, 36% were under 40, the age group known to be the most abstaining.
Facing Abdelamadjid Tebboune, two candidates condemned to playing a supporting role: Youcef Aouchiche, first secretary of the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), and Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, head of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), an Islamist party. The two opponents led a smooth campaign, refraining from questioning the head of state on his record and his program.
In this locked election, Mr. Tebboune’s real adversary was abstention, a factor that has become structural in Algeria. “If Youcef Aouchiche and Abdelaali Hassani Cherif had really assumed their status as opponents, this would have given a lively campaign and would perhaps have encouraged a good turnout. But by imposing a constrained role on them, the regime missed an opportunity to interest Algerians.”said a former journalist who requested anonymity.
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