20 million Algerian voters to go to the polls to elect their president of the republic

More than 20 million Algerian voters are expected to cast their ballots on Thursday April 9th to elect their president of the republic. The 6 candidates running for the presidency conducted 2,300 activities including proximity meetings and popular rallies during the 19-day-electoral campaign to sway the electorate before polling day.

• Algerian interior minister Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni will announce the elected candidate and the elections results on Friday.
• Some candidates claim the presidential elections will have two rounds. They say if a candidate wins an overwhelming majority, that mean there is a vote fraud.
• According to observers, those who dream of a second round are actually seeking to be “ranked second.” So, what will be ranked second: Djahid Younsi, the Secretary General of the Islamic el-Islah movement or Moussa Touati, head of the Algerian National Front? Both of them expect a second round.
• Candidates Louisa Hanoun, leader of the Workers’ Party, Fouzi Rebaine, leader of the Ahd 54 party and the independent candidate Mohamed Said did not talk about any first or second round.
• Independent candidate Abdelaziz Bouteflika asked voters to freely elect their president even if they do not choose him. Yet, he expressed his desire to win an overwhelming majority.
• The competition to be “ranked second” is making five candidates, except the elected one, to “evade” being at the bottom of the list. While being “ranked second” will be a “nice dream” for some candidates, others consider being “ranked the bottom of the list” as a “nightmare.”