Algeria Revises Down President’s Election Win Size After Appeal

(Bloomberg) -- Algeria’s constitutional court confirmed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s victory in Sept. 7 elections, while revising down the scale of his landslide win after appeals from challengers.

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Tebboune got 84.3% of the 11.23 million votes cast in the North African OPEC member, with turnout of 46.1%, the court said Saturday in a statement. The election commission’s initial results had put the incumbent’s share at 94.7%.

All three candidates — including Tebboune — questioned those results, and his two competitors lodged appeals. The court on Saturday said the new figures came after all votes were counted from across the country, Africa’s biggest by area.

Strong participation was seen as key to maintaining a sense of legitimacy for the 78-year-old Algerian leader. He came to power in a 2019 vote that saw 40% turnout and took place against the backdrop of mass youth-driven protests that forced his veteran predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign.

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