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Parliamentary elections kick off in Algeria amid low turnout fear

Xinhua, May 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

Algeria's new lower house parliamentary elections kicked off on Thursday to choose its 462 members for a five-year term.

About 23.2 million Algerians are eligible electorates.

However, several observers and experts predicted that the number of abstainers will be high, a factor which would threaten the new parliament's credibility.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika reassured the nation by declaring that elections would be fair and free, urging citizens to vote in large numbers, in response to what some opposition parties are deeming as "rigged" elections and calling upon people to abstain.

A week ago, Bouteflika said in a letter to the nation that voters' decision will be respected, stressing "your participation in the upcoming elections will contribute toward the country's stability, democracy and development."

Authorities deployed 44,000 security officers to secure the electoral polls.

Campaign started on April 9 and lasted safely until the 30 with no major incidents were reported.

Algeria welcomed over 400 foreign overseers from various international associations and organizations to monitor the elections.

In addition, approximately 700 accredited correspondents are covering the elections including 80 foreign media representatives.

These elections are the sixth electoral ones since 1989, when Algeria adopted its multi-party system.

The majority of opposition parties, Islamists and secular, decided to participate.

According to Algerian political experts, the new electoral law's provisions leave political parties no choice but to participate in the elections.

Moreover, political parties wishing to participate in post-2017 elections will be asked for evidence proving that they've garnered 4 percent of the votes in a previous election round.

Therefore, in the event of a boycott, the party in question will be eliminated from upcoming elections, a clear threat to its continued existence.

The parliament's lower house includes 462 members elected by common consensus for a five-year term.

The country's two ruling parties, the National Liberation Front and National Democratic Rally, both grabbed the majority seats, specifically 291 seats, in the May 2012 elections. Endit