Algeria’s largest Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace, claimed that its candidates had topped the results of parliamentary votes both inside and outside the country and warned of “attempts to change the results.”
The claim for a win came before any official results from Saturday’s polls.
A statement on the official website of Abdel-Razzaq Makri, the movement’s leader, said: “We extend our warmest regards and appreciation to the citizens who voted on our lists.”
“However, we warn that there are widespread attempts to change the results of previous actions,” referring to fraud in previous elections under then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The party warned that such attempts “will have bad consequences for the country and the future of the political and electoral process.”
Makri concluded by urging the country’s president, Abdel-Majid Tebboune, to “protect the will of the people.”
As of 15:45 GMT, no information has yet been published by the electoral authority on official election results.
Turnout was only 30.2%, Electoral Commissioner Mohamed Chorfi announced after Saturday’s vote – the lowest in a legislative survey in at least 20 years.
He said the shape of the new church should appear on Sunday but it would take 96 hours before official results are announced.
Less than 1% of registered voters voted in Kabylie, a predominantly Berber region east of Algiers, and the cities of Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou.
“As expected, the majority of Algerians stumbled in the ballot box. The low turnout confirms the strong trend towards rejecting the vote,” the front page of the French-language daily Liberte read.
Turnout reached 37.09% in the 2017 parliamentary elections and 42.9% in 2012.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, himself elected at an official turnout of less than 40% at the end of 2019, put a brave face on the numbers.
“For me, turnout is not important. What matters is whether the legislators elected by the people have sufficient legitimacy,” the president said.
On Thursday, Tebboune promised that the ballot box would be the decisive dynamic in the election.
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