British Newspaper: Algeria’s presidential election takes place amid deteriorating human rights

Algerians go to the polls this Saturday in a presidential election taking place in “a steady erosion of human rights” under incumbent president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is expected to win a second five-year term, said the Guardian.

Youssef Aouchiche of the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) and Abdellah Hassan Cherif of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), are also running for president in this election show.

Turnout was below 40% in the 2019 presidential election, when the incumbent president took power months after a popular uprising ousted Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who had spent two decades in office.

Human rights groups say the rights violations under Bouteflika have continued under his successor, said the British daily, citing in this regard the comments of Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“In recent years, Algeria has experienced a steady erosion of human rights through the authorities’ dissolution of political parties, civil society organizations, and independent media outlets, alongside a spike in arbitrary arrests and prosecutions using trumped-up terrorism charges,” said AI official.

In July, eleven major opposition figures wrote an open letter saying that “Algeria is in a more critical situation than before” and that the president had fostered an “authoritarian climate”.

In August, 60 political activists were arrested, mostly from the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) party. Last week, Fethi Ghares, a stalwart of the 2019 uprising and leader of the Democratic Social Movement party, banned last year, was detained along with his wife for “insulting the president”.

Some experts say the president’s legacy so far has offered little hope of better fortunes for the largest country in Africa if he wins a second term.

The Algerian government has failed to contain soaring inflation, meet export growth targets or advance key foreign policy priorities. Yet, Mr. Tebboune, nearly 79, is poised to win a second term in a country that has never had a peaceful transition of power and has always been under control of the military establishment.

During his campaign trail, Tebboune, who is known for mingling economic figures and statistics, has embarrassed himself and his country on the international stage.

He has made far-fetched statements, leaving observers wondering whether the man is a liar; prone to perpetual slips of the tongue; delusional; deliberately deceptive; or, as many on social media are sarcastically saying he is unfit to serve as president.

His embarrassing statements and absurd statistics include: “Algeria is the world 3rd largest economy”, “Putin, friend of humanity”; “Algeria will soon have a daily production of 1.7 billion m3 of drinking water thanks to desalination”; “the Algerian army is ready to go to Gaza and build three hospitals in 20 days”; and his promise to build a 200 km-long railway line from Algiers to Tamanrasset.

Tebboune has also made countless false assertions such as by 2026, Algeria will no longer have to import durum wheat and that it will build two million homes during his 2nd term.