Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune speaks after casting his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo)
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — After being declared the winner of Algeria’s election, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune joined his two challengers in criticizing the country’s election authority for announcing results that contradicted earlier turnout figures and local tallies.
The claims of irregularities mar what had earlier appeared to be a landslide re-election for the 78-year-old head of state.
Algeria’s National Independent Election Authority, or ANIE, on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94.7% of Saturday’s vote, far outpacing his challengers Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who received only 3.2% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who got just 2.2%.
Hours later, Tebboune joined his opponents in questioning the reporting of results with the three campaigns jointly issuing a statement accusing the country’s top election official of announcing contradictory results.
In a country where elections have historically been carefully choreographed affairs, such astonishing questions about irregularities shocked Algerians who expected Tebboune to win in a relatively uneventful fashion.
It’s unclear what will follow all three candidates casting doubt on irregularities and whether they will prompt legal challenges or delay the final certification of the result. The tally reported on Sunday gave Tebboune a total vote share that was far more than the 87% that Vladimir Putin won in Russia’s March elections and the 92% that Ilham Aliyev got in Azerbaijan’s February contest.
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