Abdelmadjid Tebboune Wins Algerian Presidential Election With 94% Votes

Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been declared the winner of Algeria’s presidential election held on Saturday, securing a landslide victory with over 90% of the votes.

Mohamed Charfi, head of the Algerian electoral commission, announced the results at a press conference on Sunday. He reported that Tebboune, the incumbent president, received 94.65% of the total votes.

“Of 5,630,000 voters recorded, 5,320,000 voted for the independent candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accounting for 94.65 percent,” Charfi said.

The electoral body emphasized that efforts were made to ensure transparency and fair competition during the election. The total voter turnout was reported at 48%.

Abdelaali Hassani Cherif and Youcef Aouchiche, the closest challengers, received three percent and two percent of the votes, respectively.

However, Cherif’s campaign team has raised concerns over the legitimacy of the results, alleging that polling station officials were pressured to inflate the numbers.

They claimed that Cherif had garnered significantly more support in several regions based on their internal assessments.

Throughout the campaign season, there were widespread criticisms from activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, over what they described as a “repressive atmosphere.”

Allegations of harassment and prosecutions of members from opposition parties, media outlets, and civil society groups were a recurring theme.

Tebboune’s re-election comes after a first term marked by significant public spending on social programs. During his campaigns, he promised to continue increasing unemployment benefits, pensions, and public housing initiatives — policies that were also central to his first term.

Tebboune first rose to power in 2019 after the “hirak” protest movement, a nationwide mass protest that ousted long-serving President Abdulaziz Bouteflika after 20 years in power.