Algerian local elections get under way

29/11/2007

Algeria's double elections began this morning, but government officials and party organisers fear bad weather may keep voters away. Initial figures released by the Ministry of the Interior indicate that only around 20% of voters had cast their ballots by early afternoon.

By Hayam El Hadi and Achira Mammeri for Magharebia in Algiers – 29/11/07

[Getty Images] Turnout in Algiera's local elections was estimated at 20% by 2 p.m. Here, an Algerian boy casts a ballot for his father at a polling station in Algiers.

Under heightened security and heavy rain, Algerians began voting this morning to elect representatives to People’s Communal Assemblies (APC) and People’s Wilaya Assemblies (APW) for a five-year term. Recent floods and continued rain, however, may limit voter turnout. By 2 p.m., only 20% of the country’s 18 million eligible voters had cast ballots.

Authorities recruited 75,000 organisers to ensure that things go smoothly at 10,462 polling stations in the country’s 48 wilayas. Security forces stepped up their presence by increasing the number of roadblocks to avert the threat of terrorist attacks. Police officers are now controlling traffic near schools being used as polling stations, parking has been prohibited in these areas and voters are being systematically searched. Political parties have also deployed their own representatives in a bid to prevent fraud.

Inhabitants of the capital, like those of other cities around the country, have turned out in modest numbers under the pouring rain to vote. The streets of Algiers on Thursday morning, usually thronged with people, were deserted and traffic was unusually light.

In the working-class district of Bab El Oued, badly hit by the adverse weather conditions affecting the north of the country since early this week, polling stations were virtually empty. By ten o’clock, residents still had not turned out en masse to vote. There was a similar scene in the commune of Oued S'mar, an eastern suburb of Algiers, with the polling station of the "City of 532 houses" seeing little activity during the morning.

The few people Magharebia encountered at polling stations were mainly pensioners who see voting as a patriotic act. Lakhdar, a retired government employee in his sixties, said, "I’ve always voted and I’ll keep on doing so, even though I'm not always satisfied with the performance of politicians."

Walid, an unemployed twenty-year-old, angrily disagreed. "I don’t see why I should vote. You saw what happened during the floods. If city halls had done their job, houses wouldn’t have been flooded. All they think about is lining their own pockets."

To many Algerians, the bad weather demonstrated officials' inability to deal with city affairs. Coming just a few days before the elections, the flood crisis sparked fears among political parties that the voter apathy seen in the May legislative elections would be repeated.

Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni blamed the lack of enthusiasm among Algerian voters on the weather. He asked Algerian citizens to defy nature in the interest of the country.

Indeed, flooding continues to claim victims. Three people from the same family perished today in Ain Defla when their building collapsed.

Abdelaziz Belkhadem, Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the National Liberation Front, also noted the weather. Voting early this morning at the El Ghazali d'El Mouradia poll in Algiers, he said, "I hope the turnout for the local elections will be well above the turnout we saw in May's legislative elections." He acknowledged, however, that "nature has hardly been spoiling the political parties."

Meanwhile, some political party officials worry about potential voting irregularities. Opposition parties such as the Socialist Forces Front and the Rally for Culture and Democracy have posted observers to prevent electoral fraud. Together with observers from other parties, they are conducting checks to ensure that ballot boxes do not already contain ballot papers. In the absence of the electoral monitoring committee, they will continue to observe the elections until polls close at 7pm and the counting begins.

The interior minister released a circular several days ago banning women wearing veils that covered their faces from entering polling booths. The move also ordered authorities to verify the identity of voters in an effort to prevent cases of electoral fraud, such as those registered in May 17th previous elections, when some veiled women managed to vote more than once.

Candidates from 23 parties are vying for 8,000 positions in city government and 322 positions in wilaya government. The results will be officially announced at a Friday morning press conference by the interior minister.