Saw a record abstinence rate

Algeria: 66.8% of the electorate voted "yes" to the constitutional referendum

My honor: The circumstances of the referendum being a challenge to any political move.

A.F.B.

66.8% of Algerian voters voted "yes" to the referendum on amending the Algerian constitution, which witnessed a record abstention rate, according to what the head of the Independent National Elections Authority, Mohamed Charfi, announced yesterday.

My honor, in a press conference, said that 33.20% voted "no", considering that "independently expressing your voice (as citizens) is another challenge to building a new Algeria."

The final turnout rate was 23.7%, the lowest in the country's history, during an important poll.

Only a fifth of registered voters voted in favor of the constitutional amendment.

Sharafi added that "the conditions for the referendum to take effect posed a challenge to any political move of any nature," referring to the restrictions imposed in the context of combating the "Covid-19" epidemic.

He pointed out that «the citizen’s turnout at the polls despite the (outbreak) of the epidemic is nothing but evidence of his response to the nation’s call.

"Expressing independently with your voice (as citizens) is another challenge to building a new Algeria, which began with the Mubarak movement on February 22 (2019) through a peaceful path for change," he added.

The constitutional amendment is supposed to establish a "new republic," but it preserves the essence of the presidential system, despite its inclusion of a series of rights and freedoms to meet the aspirations of the movement calling for the overthrow of the existing political system.

The movement activists called for a boycott of the referendum.

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