Algerians headed to the polls on Thursday for parliamentary elections amidst widespread concerns over living costs and the disqualification of candidates challenging the government. Nearly 25 million voters in Africa’s largest country had to choose among 1,235 candidates to fill 407 seats in the lower house of Parliament, each with a five-year term.
Voter turnout was a pressing issue as election campaign activities saw low public engagement. To encourage participation, the government declared Thursday a paid national holiday. Beyond electoral politics, many were preoccupied with everyday issues like purchasing power and deteriorating public services, amidst shrinking political, media, and union freedoms.
Football enthusiasts in Algeria also focused on the World Cup, with their national team facing Switzerland early Friday for a place in the round of 16. The outgoing majority, aligned with the government, held around 300 seats, while the Islamist MSP party was the second-largest force with 64 deputies.
Some MSP candidates were among the 269 disqualified, including former officials and activists from the pro-democracy Hirak movement, which played a role in ousting long-time autocratic leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. The government has increasingly restricted freedoms under his successor, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was re-elected for a second term in 2024.
The electoral authority stated that the barred candidates were excluded for ‘links with illicit financial networks’ and ‘suspicious political activities.’ Security measures were put in place across polling centers in the capital, Algiers. In the southern regions and the Sahara Desert, voting began 48 hours earlier to accommodate nomadic populations using government vehicles escorted by police in Land Rovers.
The Algerian diaspora, consisting of approximately 854,225 registered voters, particularly in France, where the largest community abroad resides, voted on Saturday and Sunday in various consular offices. High turnout and a ‘family-friendly atmosphere’ were reported by the state news agency APS.
The government also rescheduled year-end school exams to free classrooms and teachers, who usually manage voting centers for a daily allowance. With campaign venues largely empty, parties and independent candidates turned to ‘grassroots meetings’ in streets, markets, and popular cafes with citizens.
A widely circulated video last week showed a political party leader unsuccessfully trying to convince a young man to vote. Nonetheless, parties campaigned vigorously. The presidential majority, led by the veteran FLN party, sought to secure broad participation to strengthen Algeria internally against geopolitical challenges.
The opposing Workers Party, with a Trotskyist orientation, campaigned for increased pensions and salaries, opposing a mining sector reform favoring foreign investors. The leader of the Socialist Forces Front, the principal democratic movement party, advocated for the release of political prisoners and more press freedom, arguing that boycotting elections only aided the government.
The electoral authority based disqualifications on an anti-corruption law previously enabling the purchase of parliamentary seats with money linked to drug trafficking, corruption, and tax evasion. Those affected claimed the law was unfairly applied or used for political reasons. ‘I myself voted for this virtuous law, aimed at cleaning up the political scene, but it has become a tool of mass exclusion,’ said Abdelahab Yagoubi, an Islamist legislator representing the Algerian diaspora, unable to seek re-election. Said Oulhadj, a 62-year-old primary school director from a mountain village, wanted to run with the independent party Thagmats (Fraternity) but was barred. ‘I have nothing to do with dirty money,’ he told The Associated Press. ‘The electoral authority has tarnished my reputation and honor. How will my students, their parents, and my colleagues see me?’
The president of the electoral authority, Karim Khelfane, defended the institution, stating nearly 70% of submitted candidacies were accepted, and some legislators who couldn’t seek a second term had voted for the anti-corruption law.