ALGIERS — Algeria's long-dominant National Liberation
Front has narrowly won local elections, preliminary results showed Tuesday, in
a vote seen as key in efforts to turn the page on late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's
rule.
اضافة اعلان
The FNL, which led the country's war of independence from
France and was for decades its only party, won 5,978 seats nationwide, followed
by its traditional ally the Democratic National Rally (RND) with 4,584,
electoral board chief Mohamed Charfi said.
Independents came third with 4,430 seats, Charfi told
journalists.
Saturday's vote was an important test for President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, elected in a contentious, widely boycotted 2019 ballot
months after Bouteflika stepped down under pressure from the army and the Hirak
pro-democracy protest movement.
Bouteflika died in September, aged 84.
In November last year, less than 24 percent of the
electorate approved amendments to the constitution, while at parliamentary
elections in June, voter participation hit a record low of 23 percent.
Saturday saw 36.6 percent turnout for the local elections
and 34.8 percent for regional polls, Cherfi said.
He had previously rejected any comparison with local ballots
under Bouteflika, which were marked by widespread fraud.
The FLN won absolute majorities in 124 out of the country's
1,541 municipalities, but lost majorities in 479 of the 603 it had controlled.
In 552 municipalities it will have to govern alongside its
allies, including the RND, which won absolute majorities in 58 city councils.
Opposition veterans the Front of Socialist forces (FFS) won
an absolute majority in 47 municipalities, many of them in the restive Kabylie
region.
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