Major Islamist party in Algeria says they topped elections results

By Hassan Jibril

ALGIERS, Algeria (AA) - Algeria's Movement of Society for Peace, the country's largest Islamist party, said on 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," 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."

Makri concluded by calling on the country's president, Abdel-Majid Tebboune, to "protect the people's will."

As of 1545GMT, no data has yet been released by the election authority regarding official polling results.

Some 30% of voters turned out in Algeria’s parliamentary elections on 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, Tebboune pledged that the ballot box would be the decisive dynamic in the elections.

Writing by: Ali Abo Rezeg