Introduction
Algeria’s National Independent Electoral Authority (NIEA) held the Presidential elections on September 7, 2024. The elections were marred with controversy and political bickering. The incumbent President, Abdelamajid Tebboune, decided to schedule an early election three months before the scheduled time and launched an election campaign with the central theme- “completion” of the “New Algeria.” The incumbent President did not explain why the election was preponed. The NIEA reported that only 5.6 million of the country’s roughly 24 million voters had turned out to vote, showing high abstention rates. The turnout was 26.5 percent, lower than the 2019 elections in which 39.9 percent of the electorate participated.[i]
The incumbent President Tebboune received 94 percent of the vote. In contrast, other candidates, Islamist Abdellah Hassan Cherif of Movement of Society for Peace received only 3 percent, and socialist Youcef Aouchiche of Socialist Forces Front, got just 2.1%. However, there was controversy regarding the election result, which led to a joint complaint by the three candidates to the Constitutional Court, to review the vote count and schedule re-vote. It is interesting to note that Tebboune, despite winning with a landslide vote, supported the other candidates’ alleged complaint regarding malpractices in the elections. Many analysts stated Tebboune did not oppose the opponents’ complaint because it would threaten the legitimacy of the election results.
Against this backdrop, this paper aims to assess Algeria’s 2024 Presidential elections and the controversy surrounding it.
Backgrounder to the 2024 Presidential Elections
Algeria witnessed the pro-democracy protest known as “Hirak” (Revolution of Smiles) on February 16, 2019 that forced the octogenarian Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President for two decades, to resign on April 2, 2019. The protesters demanded deeper reforms to foster genuine democracy and remove the elites from power in the military, security, bureaucracy, business, and other sectors of what Algerians call “le pouvoir,” meaning ‘power.’ These demands could not be fulfilled in short term, which is why after the resignation of Bouteflika, Algeria faced weekly protests to maintain the pressure on ruling elites.[ii] Amidst the ongoing protest, the parliament appointed acting President Abdelkader Bensalah on April 19, 2019. A new election authority, NIEA, was established by the government accepting the protestors’ demands on September 15, 2019. The Presidential elections were held on December 12, 2019, in which Tebboune contested independently on the promise of building a “New Algeria.” With the endorsement by the military, Tebboune won the 2019 elections with 58 percent of the vote, though the turnout was notoriously low with more than 60 percent of the country’s 24 million voters remaining absent. The opposition alleged that voters did not come out to vote due to the fear of intimidation and violence. They had boycotted the 2019 elections, calling them rigged. President Tebboune was greeted with fresh rounds of protests, in which the protestors rejected his Presidency.[iii] However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new guidelines from the government outlawing the Hirak protest in 2020, it did not gain the same momentum again as it had earlier.
The protest in Algeria became weak but the challenges to President Tebboune’s government were not lessened. In Tebboune’s first term, the country struggled to recover from the challenges of COVID-19 and regional conflicts (Ukraine and Gaza Wars), which disrupted the supply chain and fluctuated oil and gas prices. Under his rule, the pace of economic reform was slow because of the red-tapism, which further created hurdles for external investment and improvement in the business environment. Algeria also struggled to diversify its economy from hydrocarbons to manufacturing and agriculture. Unemployment rose particularly among the youth who were fresh graduates. This led to deep resentment amongst the youth against the government. Apart from these challenges, Algeria also faced problems of corruption, social and political instability, infrastructure gaps, and mismanagement, which posed obstacles for incumbent President Tebboune to seek another term in the 2024 Presidential elections.
Presidential Candidates’ Political Campaign
The Presidential candidates Youcef Aouchiche of the Socialist Forces Front, Algeria’s largest opposition party, Abdellah Hassan Cherif of the Islamist Party Movement for Society and Peace, and incumbent President Tebboune during their political campaigns agreed on the economic challenges that Algeria had to tackle, despite their ideological differences.
During the campaign, Abdellah Hassan Cherif underscored his programme “Forsa” (opportunity), which focused on reform and renewal to meet citizens’ aspirations for a democratic, pluralistic, and socially responsible state. Cherif planned to increase the per capita income, reduce unemployment, lower inflation, and increase the country’s growth rate, emphasising ‘equitable distribution’ of housing units. He also announced the plan to bring investment in Algeria through the “Made in Algeria” automotive industry. Besides, he lashed out at Morocco for historically conspiring against Algeria by making an alliance with Israel and threatening its national security.[iv] This statement was part of the political campaign to garner votes from the local constituency amidst the ongoing Gaza War.
Youcef Aouchiche in his campaigns raised the issue of “cost of living” as an urgent problem for Algerians, particularly the middle class. He focused on structural reforms to address problems, such as inequalities in income distribution, rising inflation, and growing unemployment. He demanded a minimum wage of 40000 Algerian Dinar (DZD) and 20000 DZD for unemployed youth and other poor people. Besides, he also demanded the reduction of the prices of essential foods and an increase in investment in infrastructure.[v]
The candidates had also raised concerns regarding the structural problems in the economic sector of Algeria and announced their plans to remove the hurdles. However, the candidates had not emphasized enough on the diversification of the Algerian economy from hydrocarbon to the manufacturing sector and agriculture, which is crucial for reducing its dependency on gas in critical times, such as pandemics and regional conflicts.
Incumbent President Abdelamadjid Tebboune’s Electoral Agenda
Abdelmadjid Tebboune contested as an independent candidate. The opposition candidates alleged that the military and the ruling establishment backed him. However, several political parties, including the National Liberation Front (FLN), the National Democratic Rally (RND)[vi], the Front of the Future, and the Construction Movement (El Binaa), had extended their support for Tebboune’s second term as President. Tebboune promised several things to the Algerians, including the creation of 450,000 jobs and emphasising that combating unemployment would be an “absolute priority.”[vii] He announced to make 500,000 young self-employed entrepreneurs, with the support of banks, the administration, and the Supreme Council of Youth. He agreed to increase the number of startups from 7800 to 200,00. He further aspired to boost purchasing power by raising salaries, combating inflation, and revaluing the national currency. Tebboune expressed his commitment to allowing the country’s youth to access political positions to foster the emergence of a new political class.
Besides, Tebboune announced increasing retirement pensions and allowances for vulnerable categories and homemakers and increasing university bursaries. He promised to extend the railways to the provinces of Tamanrasset and Adrar and address the issue of water scarcity through interconnection of dams to establish a greater balance in water distribution. For housing infrastructure, he announced constructing two million housing units, including 600,000 units in rural areas.[viii] He also pledged the modernization of the agriculture sector and a complete stop to the import of wheat by 2026.
The Presidential candidates, including Tebboune, encouraged higher voter turnout during their campaigns, which intended to strengthen the legitimacy of the electoral process. However, a section of pro-democracy activists and political parties including the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD)[ix] boycotted the elections, fearing the elections could only entrench and legitimize the status quo. Also, international organisations, such as Amnesty International protested against the harassment and violence against opposition parties, media organisations, and civil society groups.
Controversy Surrounding the Presidential Election’s Outcome
The result of the elections was in favour of incumbent President Tebboune; the other two opponents did not accept it as they alleged that the Electoral Authority did not conduct the voting impartially and demanded re-voting. The opposition alleged that independent observers were not permitted to observe the elections in Algeria.
Abdelali Hassani Cherif’ and Youcef Aouchiche questioned how the results were reported and alleged foul play, including pressure on poll workers and proxy voting. They filed appeals at Algeria’s Constitutional Court on 10 September to re-conduct the voting.[x] The confusion erupted when the Election Authority published figures that showed a low turnout. On Saturday, around 5 p.m, the reported turnout was 26.5 percent, which was lower than the previous presidential elections. After unexplained delays, the Electoral Authority said the “provisional average turnout” by 8 p.m had spiked to 48 percent. But the next day, it reported that only 5.6 million out of nearly 24 million voters had cast ballots-nowhere near 48 percent.[xi]
Interestingly, Tebboune also criticised the election result despite winning by a massive margin. Tebboune, including two other candidates, complained about the Electoral Authority’s role in irregularities in the ballot. The joint complaint was seen as a possible sign of discord between Tebboune and the military which controls the Sonatrach-the organisation that manages hydrocarbon resources and the politics of the country.[xii] It was also alleged that as a winning candidate, Tebboune supported the joint complaint of the opponents to maintain the legitimacy of the results of the elections.
On September 14, 2024, the Constitutional Court head Omar Belhadj claimed that it had assessed the local voting data to settle questions about irregularities that the three candidates had alleged. Belhadj announced that President Tebboune won a second term with 84.3 percent of the vote, whilst Hassani received 9.56 percent. Aouchiche’s vote share increased to 6.14 percent.[xiii] Though, the vote share of the two other candidates had increased and Tebboune’s vote share had marginally reduced but he emerged as the winning candidate of the Presidential elections. He took oath as President of Algeria for the second term on September 17, 2024.
Conclusion
The growing numbers of abstentions during elections indicate that Algerians are losing trust in the electoral process. It is a lesson for the ruling elites to make serious political, economic, and social reforms. The questioning of the electoral verdict by the three candidates, including the winner, also exposed structural problems, such as the infighting among the civilian and military elites, a more fragmented political system, and the lack of credibility of the national Electoral Authority. These problems will be compounded by regional and global challenges to security, geopolitics, regional conflicts, and global political stability.
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*Dr. Arshad, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.
Endnotes
[i] “President Abdelmajid Tebboune is re-elected in a landslide in gas rich Algeria,” Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/mrbdwhsp, September 10, 2024
[ii] “26th Friday protest marches reiterate main Hirak Movement’s demands,” Algeria Press Service, August 16, 2019, accessed https://tinyurl.com/34txh5fn, September 12, 2024
[iii] “Understanding Algeria’s president election,” Arab Centre for Research & Policy Studies, September 15, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/36ybx6df, September 18, 2024
[iv] “Algerian Islamist candidate puts forth hostile remarks against Morocco in campaign speech,” Morocco World News, August 25, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/4sukdp7s, September 13, 2024
[v] “Algeria: Presidential elections, the programs of the three candidates compared,” Nova News, September 4, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/bdz29jyc, September 17, 2024
[vi] RND Secretary-General is Ahmed Ouyahia .
[vii] “Presidential candidate Tebboune pledges 450000 new jobs: A vision for Youth, Economic Empowerment,” Dzair-tube, August 25, 2025, accessed https://tinyurl.com/yy5dx8ur, September 18, 2024
[viii] “Electoral campaign: candidates commit to meeting Algerians’ aspirations,” Algerian Press Service, August 26, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/y4jp8pmk, September 17, 2024
[ix] It is headed by Mohcine Belabbas. The RCD promotes secularism and has its political power base in Kabylia, a major Berber speaking region.
[x] “Opposition candidates file court appeal questioning Algerian presidential election outcome,” ABC News, September 11, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/36m7r79a, September 18, 2024
[xi] “Algeria election results are being questioned by the opposition candidates and the president himself,” September 11, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/3r75f4z9, September 17, 2024
[xii] “Algerian president criticises ‘vague and contradictory’ election results,” Financial Times, September 9, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/32fck556, September 17, 2024
[xiii] “Algerian court certifies President Tebboune’s landslide re-election win,” Al-Jazeera, September 14, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/mpc5djya