President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been named the winner of Algeria’s presidential election, granting him another term leading the gas-rich North African nation five years after pro-democracy protests led to the ouster of his predecessor.
In a result that surprised few observers internationally or in Algeria, the country’s independent election authority on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94% of the vote, far outpacing his challengers Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who received only 3% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who got just 2.1%.
Election officials reported less than six million of the country’s 24 million voters had turned out to vote on Saturday, perpetuating the low voter turnout rates that marred Tebboune’s first term and raised questions about his popular support.
Tebboune’s total vote share was far more than the 87% that Vladimir Putin won in Russia’s March elections and the 92% that Ilham Aliyev got in Azerbaijan’s February contest. Independent observers
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