ALGERIA HOLDS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS AMID CANDIDATE BANS

Algerian voters cast ballots on Thursday in parliamentary elections to select 407 members of the lower house of parliament for five-year terms. Electoral authorities barred 269 candidates from standing ahead of the vote. Nearly 25 million voters chose among 1,235 candidates across Africa's largest country by territory. The government declared Thursday a paid national holiday and made public transport free to encourage turnout, following concerns about low attendance at campaign events during the election period.

The electoral authority stated that rejected candidates were banned because of "links to illicit financial networks" and "suspicious political activities". Among those barred were former leaders and activists associated with the Hirak pro-democracy movement, which contributed to the removal of longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. The outgoing pro-government majority holds approximately 300 seats in parliament, whilst the Islamist MSP party holds 64 seats as the second largest political force. Some MSP candidates were among those prevented from running.

Voter concerns centred on cost-of-living pressures, purchasing power and declining public services, according to reporting from the election. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was reelected to a second term in 2024, leads the government. Security measures were deployed at polling stations in the capital, Algiers, on Wednesday. The previous parliamentary election recorded turnout of approximately 25 per cent of eligible voters.