By RFPosted on 11-12-2019Modified on 11-12-2019 at 23:34

On the eve of the presidential election, thousands of people demonstrated Wednesday, December 11 in Algiers but also in other cities across the country against the holding of the poll. A poll perceived as an extension of the Bouteflika system while protesters ask for ten months a real change.

The event started around 10am on Wednesday, December 11th. In the early evening, hundreds of people were still in downtown Algiers, singing " tomorrow, there is no vote ." Throughout the day, women, men, youth and seniors walked and sang against this election. As at every demonstration, the Algerians came with their flags but also, as for several weeks, with this little red card where it is written in Arabic: " I do not vote ".

In the capital, the police tried to prevent the gathering. There were dozens of arrests and injuries. Wednesday evening, a statement from a group of journalists denounces impediments and violence on the part of the police.

The demonstrations took place in the capital but also in several large and medium-sized cities in the north of the country. In Bejaia, a city that has been very mobilized since the beginning of the protest in February, the residents also protested and the demonstrators announced that they will be mobilized all night long.

February 22

These events are the latest in a movement that began ten months ago. February 22, a crowd invades the streets of several major cities of Algeria to oppose the candidacy of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, for a fifth term. The protest movement "Hirak" is engaged.

Neither the president's decision to stand for re-election nor his resignation in April will stop the mobilization. The demonstrators demand a total change of the system at the head of the country. And the presidential election originally scheduled for July 4 is canceled due to lack of candidates.

From June, arrests take place, in connection with the protest movement. At least 140 people are believed to be in detention, according to the National Committee for the Release of Prisoners. Some were sentenced to prison terms. Several human rights organizations say the crackdown has increased since the announcement of the December presidential election date, particularly at the start of the election campaign in mid-November.

But Hirak continues to mobilize. The campaign of the five candidates is disrupted. Demonstrations also take place outside traditional Tuesdays and Fridays. The election taking place on a Thursday, they plan to mobilize again Friday.

The rest of the movement

For the protesters, the challenge will be to continue the mobilization after the election but also to better organize, and to think about what to do next. This is all the more important because Hirak is a diverse movement, and its participants do not all have the same vision of the political future they want for their country.

Because on the side of the authorities, this election is a way to restore the legitimacy of power. Several experts agree that the military high command needs to restore a civilian power facade, lost since the resignation of President Bouteflika. But unlike previous elections, it is openly contested on the street. The abstention, already strong during the previous polls, could be very important. What legitimacy, then, for the elected president in this context?

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