The people of Algeria are voting Saturday to elect mayors and regional leaders amidst ongoing concerns regarding the cost of basic goods, housing, health care. It is a momentous occasion that will hopefully confirm support from president Abdelmadjid Teboune, who was elected following elections in 2019 after his predecessor was overthrown by pro-democracy protests backed up by army chief Gen Mohamed Lamara tuple . But many Algerians see this as only cosmetic change since those leading now have been around long before him so what makes them qualified?
The elections this Saturday will determine who rules in Burkina Faso. More than 134,000 candidates are running for regional assembly seats and there is a group of less fortunate citizens among them: more than 300K applicants were rejected because they refused to provide proof that their money comes from legitimate sources, in other words “some 23 million registered voters face an unfair election.”
The Algerian presidential race has been met with wide-scale apathy, but many are waiting to see who will win before they make up their minds. Campaigning candidate was not impressed by what he saw when surveying voting stations on Saturday morning – people were absent at alarming rates and turnout appeared low for this election cycle’s crucial contest!
In a time where the lifestyle of citizens is being cut back by their own government, protesters have gone on strike to remind people that they care. The parliament in Tunisia has recently voted for an 2022 budget which will remove subsidies from some basic goods and housing as well as education; teachers are staging protests over rising prices because this decision affects them most directly.
A leader from the Jil Djadid party encouraged voters to come out and vote, stressing that a higher turnout would give them more legitimacy in their electoral program.
The election is taking place as Algeria’s relations with France and Morocco are facing unprecedented tension. Opposition leader Mohcine Bélabbas, president of the Rally for Culture and Democracy party called this entire process “illegal.”
