The ousted Algerian president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, cast his vote in the presidential elections that started today, when he mandated his brother Nasser to vote on his behalf in one of the polling stations in the capital.
The voting centers in Algeria had opened their doors starting at eight in the morning local time (07:00 GMT), marking the launch of the presidential poll that will succeed Khalifa Bouteflika, amid a sharp split in the street between supporters and opponents.
Five candidates are competing in the elections: Abdelaziz Belaid, head of the Future Front, Ali bin Falis, the Tala’a Al Hurriyat party, the free candidate Abdel Majid Taboun, Abdel Qadir bin Quraina, head of the National Construction Movement, and Ezzeddine Mihoubi, the acting secretary-general of the National Democratic Assembly.
More than 24 million voters are eligible to vote in this election.