Algeria election: Violent scuffles and ballot boxes burnt in five provinces

Clashes erupted in the restive Kabylie region in eastern Algeria between security forces and youths opposed to Thursday’s presidential election, leaving at least 40 people wounded, local sources said.

Separate groups of youths seeking to disrupt voting notably in the Bouria region, southeast of Algiers, ransacked polling stations in three localities shortly after they opened at 07:00, with the police firing tear-gas to disperse them.

The  turmoil around 120 kilometres east of Algiers in the village of Rafour, saw small scale clashes against the authorities.

Forty-one people were injured in the unrest, including 28 policemen, with voting temporarily suspended in the affected voting centers, the sources said.

In the capital, where security forces have been heavily deployed, police reportedly arrested five protesters shouting anti-regime slogans.

Interior Minister Tayeb Belaiz however insisted the election took place “in good conditions in the 50 000 polling centers” across the country, reporting a 51.17% voter-turnout.