Algiers – Algeria’s electoral body announced on Friday (13) that former prime minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune was the winner of Thursday (12)’s presidential election with 58% of the vote, according to preliminary results, Saudi newspaper Arab News reported.
The election body said that 40% of Algerians took part in the election, which means a turnout of 9 million voters. The election occurred amid manifestations against it. Demonstrators claim that all candidates were part of the ruling elite and demand that they cede power to a new generation.
A popular uprising in April led to the resignation of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who had been in power for 20 years. Tebboune was prime minister under Bouteflika. All five candidates were former senior officials or former members of the ruling party’s central committee.
Tebboune ran as an independent candidate. Algerian official news agency APS reported that he was born in November 17, 1945, in Mécheria, Nâama, over 600 km Southwest from Algiers.
The politician graduated from the National School of Administration and specialized in economy and finances and before becoming PM in May 2017, he had been minister of Culture, Local Government, Housing and Urban Planning and acting minister of Commerce. Before that, he held positions in different provincial administrations.
During the campaign, he promised to implement a new development policy marked by a “new economic model based on diversifying growth and the knowledge economy,” APS reported. Most of Algeria’s revenue comes from the oil and gas industry.
In his first declaration as elected president, Tebboune said that the election represents an “opportunity to implement a new Republic, whose pillars are the youth,” APS reported. He also promised to “get this new Republic ridden of corrupts and corruption.”
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
