Yesterday, Algerian voters voted to choose a new president for the country from among five candidates. The polls coincided with protests rejecting the elections, as hundreds demonstrated in the center of the Algerian capital to protest against the presidential elections, and opponents of two polling stations smashed polling stations in the governorate of Bejaia.

In detail, yesterday the Algerian government held a long-delayed presidential election, which protesters, who have been participating in street demonstrations for months, considers a play that has been prepared to keep the ruling elite in place.

About 24 million Algerians have the right to vote in about 60,000 polling stations throughout the republic, to choose the country's seventh president, in elections open to all possibilities and assumptions.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the center of the Algerian capital yesterday to protest against the presidential elections, hours after the polls opened, and the protesters demanded a boycott of the voting, which they describe as a theatrical.

In the center of the capital, some voted, while police roamed the city's streets, men and vehicles. A helicopter flew in the sky.

Outside the capital, witnesses said that polling stations in some areas were still closed hours after the official start of polling.

Witnesses and residents said that the protesters participated in marches in towns in the tribal areas, where some polling stations were closed.

Results are not expected until Friday at the earliest.

Opponents of the presidential elections smashed two polling stations in the northern state of Bejaia, one of the largest cities in the Kabylie region, as an expression of their refusal to hold the poll.

Angry protesters stormed the polling stations in the governorate of Bejaia, smashed polling booths and sabotaged voter lists, according to witnesses quoted by AFP.

Sources reported that a number of polling stations in the states of Tizi-Ouzou and Bouira in the north of the country closed their doors, after skirmishes were recorded during the voting operations in the Algerian presidential elections.

Ousted Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika cast his vote in the presidential elections, as his brother Nasser commissioned the vote on his behalf at a polling station in the capital. Nasser Bouteflika stressed that he and his brother "enjoy all their civil and political rights", unlike their younger brother Said Bouteflika, who is being tried on corruption charges.

Five candidates are competing in the elections, all of whom are former senior officials, who are the two former prime ministers, Ali bin Falis (head of the Tala’a Al Hurriyat Party) and Abdul Majeed Tabun (independent), as well as Abdulaziz Belaid (head of the Future Front), and Abdul Qadir bin Quraina (head of the National Construction Movement) In addition to Ezzeddine Mihoubi, the former Minister of Culture (from the National Democratic Rally), all of them previously had close links with the Bouteflika regime, whether by participating in his support or through holding official positions.

In the first hours of the polling process, presidential candidates cast their ballots, and they followed up with optimistic statements about the electoral process.

In a statement to the media, on the sidelines of his electoral duty, candidate Ezzedine Mihoubi said: “This day is not only to elect a president, but rather a day to enable the pillars of the new republic.” He expressed his wishes that the Algerians donate millions to make this election date a success, as it is a day to recover True sovereignty. For his part, Abdul Majeed Tabun said, while casting his vote on the level of completeness of Ahmed Orwah Boushawi, that the December 12 elections are "an opportunity for a new republic based on its youth."

For his part, Ben Fleis said, in a statement after casting his vote, that he hoped that "the presidential elections will bring good to the Algerian people and Algeria."

As for Belaid, he considered that Algeria "will celebrate today (Friday) the victory of democracy."

Yesterday morning, Algerian TV quoted the interim president, Abdelkader Bin Saleh, as saying: “I call on the Algerian men and women to take their responsibility, by going to the polls, to choose freely and consciously the candidate and the program that suits their convictions, to get our country out of these situations that have no interest for Algeria. Keep it going. ”

Bin Saleh said that the elections are a historic opportunity to consolidate democracy and social justice, and to build the state of truth and institutions in Algeria. About 24 million and 741 thousand and 161 voters were invited to this presidential poll, according to figures from the Independent Electoral Authority, including 914 thousand and 308 voters in the Diaspora, and 500 thousand to 600 thousand nomads, out of 44 million Algerians.

It is expected that weak participation will be recorded in these elections, due to the lack of consensus around it on the Algerian street.

Ambiguity surrounds the identity of the next president of Algeria, due to the convergence of the chances of the five competitors, although speculation gives preference to the candidates Ezzedine Mihoubi and Abdel Majid Taboun, pending the announcement of the official results.

Opponents of the elections

The presidential smashed

Voting centers

In the governorate of Bejaia.