Algerians vote in presidential poll as Tebboune eyes easy victory

Algerians began voting on Saturday in a presidential election in which incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, widely expected to secure a second term, is hoping for a high turnout.

The 78-year-old is heavily favoured to see off both challengers, moderate Islamist Abdelaali Hassani and socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche.

The streets of the capital Algiers were mostly quiet early on Saturday, with most voters expected to head to the polling stations from mid-day.

"I came early to exercise my duty and choose the president of my country in a democratic manner," Sid Ali Mahmoudi, a 70-year-old early voter, told AFP.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0700 GMT) and are set to close at 7:00 pm.

Preliminary results could come as early as Saturday night, with the electoral authority, ANIE, bound to announce the official results on Sunday at the latest.

"The winner is known in advance," political commentator Mohamed Hennad posted on Facebook before voting began, referring to Tebboune.

Tebboune's opponents stood little chance because of low support and the "conditions in which the electoral campaign took place, which is nothing more than a farce", Hennad wrote.

The incumbent's main challenge is to boost the turnout in the North African country, after he won in 2019 with 58 percent of the vote, but amid a record abstention rate of more than 60 percent.

"The president is keen to have a significant turnout," Hasni Abidi, an analyst at the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center. "It's his main issue."

The low turnout in 2019 followed the Hirak pro-democracy protests, which toppled former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika before they were quashed with ramped-up policing and the jailing of hundreds of people.

Presidential candidate Hassani said on Saturday morning that he too was hoping for a high turnout.

"We hope that the Algerian people will vote in force," he told journalists. "A high turnout gives greater credibility to these elections."

- Targeting young voters -

Campaign rallies have struggled to generate enthusiasm in the nation of 45 million, partly due to the summer heat.

More than 850,000 Algerian nationals living abroad have been able to vote since Monday.

With young people making up more than half the population, all candidates have been targeting their votes with promises to improve living standards and reduce dependence on hydrocarbons.

Tebboune has touted economic successes during his first term, including more jobs and higher wages in the country, Africa's largest exporter of natural gas.

His challengers have vowed to grant Algerians more freedoms.

Aouchiche says he is committed "to release prisoners of conscience through an amnesty and to review unjust laws", including on media and terrorism.

Hassani has advocated "freedoms that have been reduced to nothing in recent years".

Political analyst Abidi said Tebboune should address the major deficit in political and media freedoms as politics has been "absent from the scene", with Algerians "divorced from current politics" since the Hirak protests ended.

Five years later, rights group Amnesty International said Algerian authorities were "committed to maintaining a zero-tolerance approach towards dissenting opinions".