Voters in Algeria headed to the polls on Thursday morning to cast their votes in the legislative elections to choose members of the National People’s Assembly, while Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pledged that the elections would be fair and expressive of the popular will, in response to fears of fraud.
The voting process inside the country extends from eight in the morning until seven in the evening on Thursday, with the possibility of extending it to eight at night by a decision of the President of the Independent National Election Authority if necessary. This date was preceded by the start of voting in mobile offices in remote areas and nomadic spaces 72 hours earlier. Members of the national community abroad also started voting days ago according to the schedule for the foreign constituencies.
In a statement after casting his vote in Bouchaoui, west of the capital, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune affirmed that the elections were proceeding in a positive and encouraging atmosphere, emphasizing that "the era of quotas and tampering with the people's vote is over." Quotas refer to the predetermination of seats allocated to election winners, a practice believed to have been common in the past.
Tebboune said that Algerians are “certain that the era of quotas and tampering with the people’s vote in elections has ended,” adding that during this election “we did not hear any candidate or party complaining about fraud or vote theft,” considering that the application of the law now makes “anyone think twice before violating it.”
He also stressed that the new parliament would be “free from all suspicions,” explaining that the legislative institution is among the constitutional institutions that accompany the country’s political, economic and in various fields.
President Tebboune pointed out that the current parliament witnessed, for the first time since independence, a legislative initiative represented by the proposal of a law criminalizing colonialism, expressing his hope that the next term will witness other initiatives, especially with regard to field investigations and the establishment of committees concerned with monitoring imbalances and proposing solutions.
He added that the current elections seem “easier than the past elections,” considering that the election law “has been correctly understood and digested,” and that the country “has finally finished with fraud and corruption in elections.”
In the same vein, the president stated that he is observing a resurgence of "national spirit" among citizens, particularly the youth, adding that "Algerian youth are patriotic to the core, and there is no cause for concern regarding Algeria in this respect." He also asserted that Algeria is "on the right track economically," noting that this is, according to him, recognized by international and regional financial institutions.
More than 24.7 million voters are participating in this election, including about 23.9 million within the country and more than 854,000 voters from the national community residing abroad, to elect members of the National People’s Assembly for a five-year term.
Amidst high voter turnout, 793 electoral lists comprising 9,854 candidates are vying for seats in the council within the country. These include 613 party lists representing 32 political parties, one coalition list, and 125 independent lists. As for the Algerian diaspora abroad, 54 lists with 432 candidates are competing, including 47 party lists, one coalition list, and six independent lists.
The elections are conducted according to the proportional representation system on the open list with preferential voting without mixing, where the voter chooses only one list, then gives his preferential vote to one or more candidates from within the chosen list, within the limits of the number of seats allocated to the electoral district.
A ballot paper is considered invalid if the number of candidates chosen by the voter exceeds the number of seats allocated to the district, while a ballot paper in which the voter chooses the list without specifying candidates is considered valid and counts in favor of the chosen list.
The Independent National Electoral Authority oversees all stages of the electoral process, from organizing and monitoring the vote to announcing provisional results, while adopting digital mechanisms that it said aim to modernize management, enhance transparency and facilitate administrative procedures.
In the first official tally, the acting head of the Independent National Election Authority, Karim Khalfan, announced that the participation rate inside the country reached 3.05 percent by 10:00 AM, while the participation rate for the national community abroad reached 8.48 percent.These figures remain provisional, as attention turns to the final turnout level, given that the participation rate is one of the most prominent indicators followed in various electoral events.
The law allows certain categories to vote by proxy under specific conditions, limiting the number of proxies to one per person. It also allows representatives of parties and candidate lists to be present inside polling stations in accordance with the legal provisions regulating the process.
Immediately after the polling stations close, the vote counting process begins inside the stations, where the results are recorded in official minutes in the presence of the candidates’ representatives, before being sent to the Independent National Election Authority, which collects them and announces the provisional results after the Authority’s council approves them, within a maximum of 48 hours from receiving the counting minutes.
After that, the minutes and appeals related to the validity of the vote are referred to the Constitutional Court, which decides on them and announces the final results within ten days from the date of receiving the files.
These elections come in a political context that witnesses the return of a number of opposition parties to parliamentary competition after years of boycott or limited participation, in addition to the continued participation of pro-government parties and independent lists, which has made the competition include various political currents.
The election day was preceded by a three-week campaign during which the candidates focused on presenting their political, economic and social programs, while the Independent National Election Authority called on all those involved in the process to adhere to neutrality and respect the law, in order to ensure the normal conduct of the vote.
The preparation of the electoral lists was accompanied by legal and political discussions, after a number of candidates and lists were dropped for not meeting the legal conditions stipulated in the election law, which led to appeals being filed before the competent judicial authorities, before the final lists were settled days after the start of the election campaign.
Observers are waiting to see what the results of this election will be in terms of the balance of power within the next National People’s Assembly, amid expectations that the pro-government faction will retain the majority within the Assembly, while also awaiting the results of the opposition parties that are returning to participate after a period of boycott.
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