President Abdelmadjid Tebboune elected second…

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been declared the winner of Algeria's presidential election, giving him another term at the helm of the natural gas-rich North African country, five years after his predecessor was ousted amid pro-democracy protests.

The result came as no surprise to most observers, either internationally or in Algeria: the country's independent electoral authority announced on Sunday that Tebboune had received 94 percent of the vote. He thus left his challengers, the Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who received three percent, and the socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who received 2.1 percent, far behind.

Election officials reported that fewer than six million of the country's 24 million eligible voters turned out to vote on Saturday, continuing the low turnout that marred Tebboune's first term and raising doubts about his popular support.

Algeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of area and, with a population of almost 45 million, the second most populous country on the continent after South Africa, where presidential elections will be held in 2024 – this year there will be over 50 elections worldwide in which more than half of the world's population will take part.

Throughout the election campaign, activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, railed against the repressive atmosphere during the campaign and the harassment and prosecution of members of opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups. Some condemned the election as a rubber-stamping exercise that could only cement the status quo.

But Tebboune and his two challengers both pushed for political participation and made targeted offers to Algerian youth, who make up the majority of the population and suffer disproportionately from poverty and unemployment.