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Algerians have begun voting in the first parliamentary elections since Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a long-time leader, was ousted two years ago, but the opposition Hirak movement has called for a boycott on Thursday after the arrest of seven of its leaders.
Polls open at 08:00 (07:00 GMT) and must close at 19:00.
About 24 million Algerians have the right to vote to elect 407 members of the National People’s Assembly for a five-year term.
The Hira movement is leading protests against the government demanding fundamental changes in the country’s political system, which was ruled by Bouteflika for 20 years.
Pro-government parties have called on Algerians to take an active part in what they call a “decisive vote for the stability of the country,” while opponents denounce “fake” elections.
Seven key figures in the protest movement, including opposition leader Karim Tabbou, were arrested on Thursday, while police on Friday deployed extensively in the capital Algiers, with the Hirak movement blocking any offer to protest against the government.
Early elections should be seen as an example of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s “New Algeria”, focusing on young candidates and non-political elites.
Those who vote in Africa’s largest nation must choose more than 13,000 candidates, with more than half listed as “independent”.
Said Salhi, leader of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, has denounced the pre-vote crackdown.
Salhi said that “the repressive atmosphere and the restrictions placed on human rights and freedoms have no democratic value in these elections.”
Parisian Hirida activist Farida Hamidi has said the election does not change anything for young Algerians who dream of it.
“We reject everything: the president, the parliament, the constitution, everything this military junta that has been governing Algeria since 1962 – we want something else,” he said.
Calls for a boycott
Hira has called for a boycott of all national polls since he mobilized hundreds of thousands of people in 2019 to force former President Bouteflika to resign after making an offer for a fifth term.
The movement returned to the streets in February after a nearly-year hiatus as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which also aimed to bury it in the arrest campaign, the presidential election and the constitutional referendum.
But the government last month stepped up its crackdown on Hirak, blocking protests and arresting hundreds of activists who have challenged new restrictions on public gatherings.
Among the seven people arrested on Thursday were independent journalist Khaled Drareni and Ihsane El Kadi, director of a pro-reform radio station.
“As a result of these arrests, the Algerian authorities have stepped up a drastic restriction on the rights to freedom of expression and association,” Amnesty International said in a statement, adding that more than 200 people had been arrested in connection with the Hira movement.
“Instead of gathering journalists and political opponents with the aim of suppressing and intimidating members of the Hira protest movement, the Algerian authorities should focus on respecting human rights obligations.”
Old guard, economic problems
President Tebboune says he has responded to Hirak’s main demands “in record time,” but says those who are still protesting are “counterrevolutionary” in return for “foreign parties.”
Said Chengriha, a powerful head of the armed forces cabinet, has warned against “any action aimed at suspending the vote.”
The protest movement says the former prime minister, who was Tebboune during Bouteblika’s tenure, confirms his narrative that the old guard has maintained strong control of power since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962.
The established parties associated with the Bouteflika government – the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the National Democratic Rally (RND) – are believed to be likely to lose seats, discredited and blamed for the Algerian political and economic crisis.
The Islamist party also wants to take advantage of the Hira boycott to increase representation – but with a split vote between the five parties, they may be fighting for real gains.
“With so many candidates, it’s easy to calculate power: choosing a patchwork assembly without a majority that will allow the president to create his own parliamentary majority,” said political scientist Rachid Grime.
According to the World Bank, Africa’s fourth largest economy is dependent on oil revenues and unemployment is struggling at more than 12 percent.
The health ministry has also reported that the fall in the coronavirus pandemic has also caused it. More than 3,500 people have been killed in the country.
“Elections in Algeria have always proved to be the solution. The solution lies in a democratic transition, there is also a dialogue around a crisis resolution table, ”said activist Sofiane Haddadji.
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