Algeria’s election authority slams Islamist party over early victory claim

By Abdurrezzak bin Abdullah

ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) – Algeria’s election authority slammed the country's largest Islamist party early Monday for its early victory claim in parliamentary polls.

The National Independent Elections Authority (ANIE) in a statement also refuted the Movement of Society for Peace’s claims of fraud attempts with the election outcome.

“We are trustees and are able to protect votes. We will share the results with the public transparently so that the truth can be revealed,” it said.

The Movement of Society for Peace said Sunday that its candidates had topped the results of parliamentary polls both inside and outside the country, warning against "attempts to change the results."

The claim of a win came ahead of any official results from Saturday’s polls.

A statement on the official webpage of Abdel-Razzaq Makri, the movement’s head, said: "We extend our warmest regards and appreciation to the citizens who voted on our lists."

"However, we warn that there are extensive attempts to change the results according to previous actions," it said, referring to fraud in previous elections under then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The party warned that such attempts "will have bad consequences for the country and the future of the political and electoral process."

Some 30% of voters turned out in Algeria’s parliamentary elections Saturday, according to the country’s election commission.

Voter turnout reached 37.09% in the 2017 parliamentary elections and 42.9% in 2012.

On Thursday, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pledged that the ballot box would be the decisive dynamic in the elections.

*Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak