A Slap in the Face of the Regime Despite Apparent Fraud

Midday passed in Algiers, and still no results from the previous day’s elections. Certainly, the winner’s name has been known since the date of the election, which was brought forward by three months. However, what observers and the general public are waiting for is the participation rate—the real stake of this election.

By Hichem ABOUD

Having spared no effort to ensure a comfortable turnout in an election tailored to a regime deficient in legitimacy, the shadow decision-makers were at least expecting a higher rate than that of December 2019.

By mixing repression with intense media propaganda against the backdrop of a political scene deserted by any form of opposition, all indications pointed to the 2024 presidential election signaling the renewal of a system that cannot recover, neither domestically nor abroad. “A moribund system that has long relied on false propaganda, to the point of becoming ridiculous and making Algeria a laughingstock of the world,” commented a connoisseur of Algerian power structures.

Confident in their good fortune, the election organizers announced partial results at 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm without resorting to fraud. However, in some provinces (wilayas), certain stratagems were not overlooked to create a psychological impact and impress the population, encouraging them to flock to the polling stations.

Civilians in military clothing invade polling stations

While in Algiers, the country’s capital, people were still asleep when the polling stations opened (images taken at 9:45 am from Didouche Mourad Street, Place Audin, Mohamed V Boulevard, the Grand Post Office, and Abdelkrim El-Khattabi Street show the city’s main arteries deserted), a crowd had already gathered at polling stations just a few miles away. In Médéa, in the Titteri, in Teleghma, in Jijel in the east, and in Laghouat 400 km south of Algiers, polling stations were packed.

In Teleghma, images on Algerian television channels show real scuffles in front of a polling center. After gathering information from local residents and closely examining the TV images, it is clear that this crowd consists solely of young men, with no women or men over thirty in sight. All have military-style shaved heads, and none are carrying mobile phones. They are students from the armored school and the supervising staff who are crowding at the polling center entrance, as shown in video 1.

In Médéa, it is the soldiers from the barracks, which house the sector command and the city garrison, dressed in civilian clothes, who fill the polling center. (See video 2)

In Jijel, it is the sailors from the naval base who play the role of voters, just as in Laghouat, where residents of the city’s airbase were called upon.

These military personnel were not registered on the electoral rolls of the cities where they were summoned to vote, and they did not have voter cards, yet they were allowed to vote by simply showing an identity card. This is a massive violation of the electoral law. However, the Independent Election Authority (ANIE) quickly resolved the issue by issuing a statement at 10:30 am stating that “voters who do not have a voter card can vote by simply presenting an identity document (national ID card, driver’s license, or passport).”

By all means necessary, a participation rate higher than the 39.88% recorded in 2019 must be achieved. The objective seems difficult to reach. “Algerians have massively deserted the polls. The ANIE (the state agency managing the elections) announces a 13.11% national participation rate at 1:00 pm. Since most Algerians vote in the morning, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for this agency to announce a participation rate approaching 20% at 8:00 pm,” declared Athmane Maazouz, the president of the RCD, one of the main opposition parties that has managed to maintain its credibility. “It’s as if a silent call has spread across the country,” adds lawyer Nabila Smaïl, who defends the “Hirak” activists. This was confirmed at 5:00 pm when it was announced that the participation rate was 26.46%. With two hours left before polling stations close, it is virtually impossible to gain 15%, the minimum required to beat the 2019 figure. At this point, the decision to extend the polling station closing time begins.

“According to the provisions of Article 132, last paragraph, of Ordinance 21-01 of March 10, 2021, on the electoral system, amended and supplemented, the Independent National Election Authority informs voters that all provincial coordinators of the Independent Authority have been authorized to extend the closing time of polling stations until eight (8:00 pm) in all provinces, after consultation of their requests.”

Tebboune as expected and without the slightest doubt

This extension serves to justify a real “remontada” in the participation rate. And what a remontada! The participation rate will increase by … 120%. No less than that. Enough to send shivers down your spine. We waited until 12:48 am, when everyone was asleep, for a dispatch from the state press agency (APS) announcing a participation rate of 48.03%, noting that this rate was achieved within the country and that it is expected to decrease if we add the 19.57% participation rate of the diaspora abroad. However, it will still be higher than that of 2019. And we can breathe a sigh of relief to rid ourselves of the shame of Tebboune’s first term. A term marked by a widespread boycott, setting a Guinness record, with two provinces, Bejaia and Tizi Ouzou, both key areas in Kabylia, recording a historic 0% participation rate.

Even though Mohamed Charfi, the president of the Independent Election Authority, had not yet held his press conference to announce the official results at the time of going to press, we can confidently say that the incumbent president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, will remain in his position, and the participation rate will be below 50%.

The people’s defiance of the military regime

A participation rate of less than 50%, despite obvious fraud and a 120% increase in less than three hours, is the best response the Algerian people can give to the ruling regime. It is a slap in the face to a military regime that continues to humiliate them and rob them of their will to determine their own fate. A people deprived of their right to self-determination by freely and democratically electing their president, parliament, and local assemblies. A people who have suffered the horrors of repression in 62 years of independence more than in 132 years of colonialism. A repression marked by the deaths of 250,000 Algerians and the disappearance of 20,000 others. Thousands of Algerians were deported to southern camps under inhumane conditions. All this was crowned by a five-year term of the Tebboune-Chengriha duo, whose history will remember more than 2,000 political prisoners, hundreds of political exiles, and thousands of clandestine migrants who fled the country on makeshift boats. Many of these young people ended up feeding their bodies to the sardines in the Mediterranean, fish they could not afford in Algerian markets due to high prices.

Today, it is up to the survivors of the political opposition, whether inside the country or abroad, to take advantage of this victory by the people. As the regime is stunned by this resounding failure, this is the opportune moment to restore hope to the people and mobilize them to put an end to a faltering regime incapable of surviving even the smallest wave of popular protest, like the February 2019 Hirak.