Algeria votes in parliamentary elections

Algiers, June 13 (IANS) Algeria held its parliamentary elections, the seventh since the introduction of multi-party system in 1989, with a turnout of only 14.47 per cent.

Vote counting began shortly after polling ended at 8 p.m. on Saturday in the presence of representatives of the candidates and members of the National Independent Elections Authority (ANIE), with the final results due to be announced on Sunday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The polls will elect the first Parliament under incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

More than 24 million people voted to elect their 407 representatives at the National People's Assembly (the lower house of parliament) for a five year term, from the 1,483 lists of candidates, or 646 parties and 837 independent lists.

The elections were marked by a wide participation of national and Islamic parties and a broader participation of young independent candidates, while the left wing and secular parties boycotted them.

The outgoing Parliament is dominated by former ruling parties the National Liberation Front and the National Democratic Rally, with the Islamists as the major opposition force.

On February 18, President Tebboune dissolved Parliament and called for the early elections.

Saturday's polls were the third organised under Tebboune's rule, after the presidential elections he won on December 12, 2019, and the popular referendum on the new constitution on November 1, 2020.