Voting has closed in Algeria’s presidential election in a poll where the incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune is tipped to stay on for a second term.
Voting began at 8am (07:00 GMT) and was scheduled be closed at 7pm (18:00 GMT) Sunday, before it was extended for an hour.
Tebboune, 78, is heavily favoured to see off moderate conservative Abdelaali Hassani Cherif and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche.
More than 24 million Algerians were registered to vote in the elections.
“Today we start building our future by voting for our project and leaving boycott and despair behind us,” Aouchiche said on national television after casting his vote.
Hassani Cherif told journalists he hoped “the Algerian people will vote in force” because “a high turnout gives greater credibility to these elections”.
Algerians abroad have been able to vote since Monday, and the country’s election authority (ANIE) put that turnout at 14.5 percent. The move to extend voting on Saturday came shortly before ANIE announced a turnout of 26 percent nationwide as of 5pm (16:00 GMT). Preliminary results could come as early as Saturday night, with ANIE announcing the official results on Sunday at the latest.
Campaign rallies have struggled to generate enthusiasm in the nation of 45 million, partly because of the summer heat.
Credit: aljaeera.com
