Voter Turnout In Algerian Presidential Election Amounts To 41.14% - Electoral Commission

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2019) The turnout in the first round of the Algerian presidential election reached 41.14 percent, President of Algeria's High Independent Authority for Elections Mohammed Sharafi said.

"The final voter turnout as of the closure of polling places amounted to 41.14 percent," Sharafi said on late Thursday, as quoted by the APS news agency.

According to the High Independent Authority for Elections, the results of the first round will be announced from December 16-25.

If no candidate gets more than half of votes, Algeria will hold the runoff between December 31 and January 9.

Five candidates are competing to replace ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose intent to run for a fifth term led to mass anti-government protests nationwide. The election is meant to resolve the political crisis that arose after Bouteflika resigned on April 2.

There are four candidates representing political parties � Azzedine Mihoubi of the Democratic National Rally, Ali Benflis and Abdelaziz Belaid of the National Liberation Front, and Abdelkader Ben Grina of the Islamist El-Binaa National Movement � as well as one independent candidate, former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Taboun.