Algerians were called to the polls on Saturday to elect their 407 deputies.
These are the first legislative elections since the popular uprising launched in February 2019 after President Bouteflika's rejection of a fifth term.
If the official results have not yet fallen - which could take several more days - the participation is known.
And it is very weak with only 30.20% of Algerian voters who went to the polls this Saturday.
Sociologist Nacer Djabi deciphers the causes for
20 Minutes.
The participation at midday already raised fears of a record abstention with only 10% of voters going to the polls at 1 p.m.
The rest of the day did little to raise the bar.
This Saturday, the Algerian legislative elections which aim to elect in one round the 407 future deputies of the National People's Assembly, recorded a national participation rate of 30.20%.
This is the lowest score for at least twenty years.
Participation is even down compared to the 2019 presidential election, which saw Abdelmadjid Tebboune elected with only 40% of the vote.
This is a record abstention for such an election.
And it is fraught with meaning while these legislative elections, the final results of which are not yet known, were the first since the unprecedented and peaceful popular uprising, born in February 2019 from the rejection of the 5th term envisaged by Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Almost two months later, he was forced to resign after twenty years of reign.
With this election, the power in place hoped to renew its legitimacy and take a further step towards the normalization of the country.
Missed?
Algerian sociologist Nacer Djabi, a recently retired professor at the University of Algiers, responds to
20 Minutes.
How were these legislative elections crucial for Algeria?
These legislative elections were a great opportunity to break with the old Algerian political system, that of the Bouteflika era. There is in any case this strong aspiration of many Algerians, already expressed in spring 2019 through the Hirak movement, to have a more legitimate, more representative Parliament. But it is missed. We should not have the final results before Tuesday and Wednesday, the count taking a long time *.
On the other hand, we already have a precise idea of participation.
And it is very weak with only 30.22% of Algerians having been to vote.
This rate could drop a further one or two points when the participation of Algerians voting from abroad is taken into account.
Whatever Abdelmadjid Tebboune says, with such abstention, it is impossible for Saturday's vote to lead to the election of a legitimate Parliament.
How do you explain this so low participation?
Instead of proposing deep reforms, instead of trying to understand the real political aspirations of Algerians, the power in place proposes elections with the promise that they will lay the foundations of a new political world.
But among the candidates running on Saturday, we ultimately find the same faces as before.
Of course, the candidates are not from the inner circle of the old political system of Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
But we went to look for them in the second and third circles.
We thus remain on the same profiles, the same major political families, the same social classes, etc.
This is what prompted a majority of Algerians to boycott the ballot.
Not much has changed in Algeria since the popular uprising in February 2019?
There have been some changes, but these are not those expected by the Algerians who took to the streets. The Hirak movement demanded a greater separation of powers, a change of political personnel, more freedoms in the creation of parties, unions and associations, a free press, a political life free of dirty money, etc. None of this has been obtained yet. The Algerian people continue to wait. Before these legislative elections, there had already been a first missed opportunity to cut with the old system, last year, during the revision of the constitution [tailor-made for his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika].
The Hirak movement wanted a broad participation of the Algerian people in this revision project and that it be the result of a broad consensus.
A preliminary step to the organization of free elections.
They did not get it and the Algerians once again have to use the only weapon they have in their hands: the boycott.
This constitutional revision was the subject of a referendum on November 1.
Only 23% of voters went to the polls.
Do the economic difficulties shaking Algeria also explain the Algerians' disinterest in politics?
The economic and social situation has indeed been very difficult in recent years and should become even more so in the years to come.
The entry of currencies for the State is falling, the economy has not been sufficiently diversified, a high unemployment rate… But I think that the reasons for the strong abstention on Saturday are primarily political.
Many Algerians consider that the political question must be resolved above all today, because it is the crux of the problem in order to hope for an improvement in this socio-economic context.
Where is the Hirak movement today?
It continues and will continue to exist.
Would that be because this movement is not limited to popular marches alone.
It's more than that.
Hirak is a state of mind, a new relationship of Algerians to politics, to their official institutions.
The Hirak is firmly rooted in the minds of Algerians, especially the younger generations.
They have become more demanding, more eager to change their country and that will not change even if the repression persists today.
Demonstrations are still organized regularly, but the context is not favorable for them to be as massive as in 2019. But as soon as conditions allow, it would not be surprising to see new major mobilizations in the main cities of the country.
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* It is necessary at the same time to count the number of votes obtained for each list in the running - and they are numerous [2.288] - then to count the votes of each candidate within each list to know who reaches these seats of deputies, details Nacer Djabi.
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