Observers say Algeria's elections meet democratic standards

2009-04-12

Foreign observers from the African Union (AU), Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) deemed the April 9th presidential elections free, transparent and credible, and in line with democratic standards, APS reported on Saturday (April 11th). At a joint press conference on Friday, the heads of the missions said the election went off smoothly and hailed the conditions provided by the authorities to facilitate observers' work. Local press quotes the chief of AU observation mission, Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former President of Mozambique, as saying there was no doubt as to the credibility of the results.

However, Workers' Party Secretary-General Louisa Hanoune, who ranked second with 4.22 % of the votes, said at a press conference on Saturday that she has appealed to the Constitutional Council over a case of election "fraud", and would ask the constitutional court to annul the results in each station where fraud is proved. The EU, the US, and heads of state of countries all over the world sent messages of congratulations to Abdelaziz Bouteflika for his re-election. AP, however, quoted US State Department spokesman Richard Aker as saying the fraud allegations raised by the other candidates raise concerns and should be addressed by the government.