Translated by Martina Ravasi
Algeria's legislative elections on July 2nd reaffirmed the increasing distance between citizens and political institutions – which is a consolidated trend. Out of 24 million people having the right to vote, just 20.79% of them voted. This is the lowest figure since the independence of the country in 1962. In 2021 the number of votes was already low (23%) and this year it has even worsened, thus confirming a participation crisis going beyond the mere electoral disinterest.
People were asked to nominate 407 members of the National People’s Assembly – the lower chamber of the Parliament - although the result seemed to be expected since the beginning. Like-minded parties close to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune were expected to retain their majority in the Parliament. These parties are led by the historical National Liberal Front (NLF) and the National Democratic Rally (NDR). At the same time, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), the main Islamist party, was the principal opposition party.
A low voter turnout had already been anticipated during the electoral campaign. Half-empty rallies, rough meetings in markets and popular cafés as well as a general lack of enthusiasm were the protagonist of last few weeks before voting. In order to foster political participation, the government even said that the election day would be bank holiday and added that they would anticipate school exams to have pooling stations free. Additionally, authorities established a complex logistic system to reach nomadic populations in the Sahara Desert, where votes were anticipated by 48 hours, as well as Algerian electors living abroad. Indeed, there are 850,000 Algerian citizens abroad, especially in France. Despite all these efforts, two hours after the opening of pooling stations, only 3% of electors had voted.
Among the main reasons behind such abstention, there is a worsening of economic conditions. The increase in the cost of living and youth unemployment as well as inflation have progressively deteriorated families’ purchase power. Many Algerians perceive that politics is no longer capable of offering concrete solutions to every-day problems. Furthermore, the electoral campaign didn’t give enough space to the most urgent economic issues. According to many observers, there was no debate on the necessary economic diversification – the Algerian economy is strongly dependent on fossil fuels. And the same goes for the main issues in terms of foreign policy, which are traditionally managed by the President and security forces rather than the Parliament.
On top of this, there has been a progressive crackdown on democratic freedoms too. The Tebboune government has intensified its control over the press, activists and civil society organizations in the last few years. Indeed, several reports from international organizations for human rights denounce an increase in restrictions of civil freedoms comparing to the previous years.
The exclusion of 269 candidates from the electoral lists was particularly controversial. They include ex parliamentarians and political opponents, as well as some representatives of Hirak – a protest movement that contributed to overthrowing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. The National Independent Authority for elections justified these exclusions by appealing to the law against “dirty money” and potential links with illegal financial networks. However, the excluded candidates refuse such accusations and affirm that the law was used as a political tool.
According to several analysts, the preventive screening of candidates has profoundly changed the very nature of electoral competition. Indeed, political confrontation no longer concerns policies and visions, but the right itself to participate in the competition.
An apparently new element is the fact that some opposition parties returned to the polls – such as the Socialist Forces Front (SFF), the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCC) and the Workers’ Party (WP). Nevertheless, according to a large number of analysts, this choice isn’t a democratic opening, but it’s the consequence of a legislative modification stipulating that those parties that miss two consecutive elections are to be dissolved. Therefore, participating in the polls is the sine qua non of the existence of a party under a legal point of view rather than a real trust in the Parliament’s capability to affect political decisions.
The low voter turnout also reflects a widespread perception of the limited influence of the National People’s Assembly. Indeed, in Algeria the core of the power is in the hands of the President, as well as army and security forces. During the last legislature, the Parliament had a marginal role in legislative initiatives and didn’t affect the main strategic decisions of the country. In this context, many citizens believe that voting is uncapable of changing the balance of power concretely.
The record in the number of abstentions isn’t a mere electoral distrust. On the contrary, for a large number of people it’s a form of silent protest against a system that is perceived as close-minded and rigid when it comes to changing.
The “New Algeria” project, promoted by President Tebboune following the actions of the Hirak movement in 2019, aimed to relaunch people’s trust towards the institutions through a political and administrative renewal. However, after six years, many observers affirm that the effects of this renewal were limited and the system keeps being extremely centralized.
Against this background, the most significant result of the July 2nd elections may not be a confirmation of the presidential majority, but the new all-time low in the electoral turnout. These elections seem to gauge of the split between citizens and institutions, rather than redefine a political balance. Moreover, they showed that the main challenge for the Algerian establishment isn’t winning the elections, but convincing the population that voting still matters.
Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ® 2026.
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L'Autore
Alice Balan
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Algeria elezioni Astensionismo