Algeria election: Governing coalition wins parliamentary vote

Votes are counted in Algiers, Algeria, May 4, 2017Image copyright
Reuters

Image caption

There was little sign of enthusiasm among voters

Algeria’s governing coalition has retained its majority in parliamentary elections, official results show.

The National Liberation Front (FNL) won 164 seats in the 462-seat lower house with its ally, the National Democratic Rally (RND), on 97.

Turnout was just over 38%, the interior ministry said, reflecting widespread disinterest among voters.

The poll took place amid deep economic gloom and uncertainty over the health of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Mr Bouteflika’s FNL party has dominated the country’s politics since independence in 1962.

On Thursday, the 80-year-old leader voted from a wheelchair in Algiers, in a rare public appearance since a 2013 stroke.

More than 23m people were eligible to vote for 11,334 candidates from 50 different political parties, including opposition Islamist alliances, in Thursday’s elections.

Algerian lawmakers are elected for a five-year term in the 462-seat lower house.

Image copyright
Reuters

Image caption

Ailing President Bouteflika made a rare public appearance to cast his ballot

The rule of President Bouteflika has been criticised for corruption and a lack of freedom, even though he has overseen a period of relative stability and prosperity following a decade-long civil war in the 1990s.

But recent economic difficulties caused by falling oil prices have seen austerity imposed on the country.

Algeria election: Governing coalition wins parliamentary vote