Twenty-four million voters must choose the municipal assemblies and wilayas (departments), for a five-year term. Early voting operations began on Wednesday, with mobile offices in the south of the country, after three weeks of campaigning.
The participation rate remains the main issue of this election, the last step in the process initiated by the Algerian authorities, supposed to renew the institutions, following the departure of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ousted from power by the Hirak, in 2019.
The last two elections; referendum on the Constitutoin and legislative elections, recorded a record abstention with a turnout of around 23%.
An Algerian political journalist notes, this time again, a lack of interest on the part of Algerians. The official press agency APS also evoked, a few days ago, an end of campaign “syears unleashing passions “.
Voters are called upon to choose from lists of independents or political parties. The traditional FLN is the one with the most, followed by the RND.
The opposition FFS party, which boycotted the legislative elections last June, decided to take part in the ballot. Several other formations, on the other hand, including the RCD, boycotted him. Note that 4 municipalities of Kabylia have no candidate.
During the campaign, the candidates pleaded for the prerogatives of local authorities to be reviewed. They are currently very limited, as are their resources.