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Algeria’s opposition appeals against election results
On Tuesday, the two opposition candidates in Saturday’s presidential election, Abdellali Hassani Cherif from the Mouvement pour la Société et la Paix (MSP) and Youcef Aouchiche of the Front des Forces Socialistes (FFS), lodged an appeal against the provisional election results with the Constitutional Court. The candidates, who according to the preliminary results lost to the current incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune with 3.17% and 2.16% to 94.7% of the vote respectively, are accusing the national electoral authority (L’Autorité nationale indépendante des élections, ANIE) of irregularities and contradictions in the results, ambiguities and inconsistencies in the voter turnout figures and errors in the percentages of the individual candidates. Surprisingly, election winner Tebboune also joined his two challengers in criticising the results and called for a review of the election results.
The accusation mainly relates to the discrepancies between the average voter turnout of 48.03% published on Saturday and the votes taken into account in the count. The ANIE stated that of the 5.63 million votes cast, 5.32 million went to the three candidates – without mentioning the number of invalid ballots or providing new figures on voter turnout. A total of 24.5 million Algerians had registered to vote in the run-up to the election. The opposition candidates Cherif and Aouchiche sharply criticised the chairman of the electoral authority, Mohamed Charfi, and pointed out discrepancies between the figures published by local authorities and those published by the ANIE. According to them, they had been cheated of at least one hundred thousand votes.
The low voter turnout, which according to official figures is still above the historically low level of just 40% in the last presidential election in 2019, reflects the population’s low level of support for the current government leadership, Cherif explained in a press release. Tebboune’s re-election was already apparent in the run-up to the election, but a recount was still necessary in order to better represent the will of the Algerian electorate. The irregularities cast a further shadow over an election period in which human rights activists had repeatedly drawn attention to the repressive atmosphere and the intimidation and persecution of opposition parties, media organisations and civil society groups (press review CW 35/2024).
The ANIE, which has been tasked with ensuring the integrity of the elections since it was founded in 2019, rejects the accusations and emphasises that it will continue to receive the originals of the counting protocols from the local authorities and forward them to the Constitutional Court. The authority also promised to inform the public about the results contained in the protocols in accordance with the principle of transparency in order to maintain the credibility of the electoral process, which it claims took place under optimal conditions.
The Constitutional Court must now deliberate on the appeal within ten days and decide whether to recount the votes, which would not automatically mean the cancellation Tebboune’s election victory, or whether to confirm the election result. Irrespective of this, the controversy surrounding the presidential election could further shake confidence in Algerian institutions. If the court rejects the appeal against the election result, observers say that new protests similar to the Hirak movement of 2019 could be imminent.
Chad and Hungary announce cooperation
On Monday, Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest for talks. Déby had arrived in the Hungarian capital on Saturday following the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing last week (press review CW 36/2024), kicking off his state visit. The high-ranking visit took place against the backdrop of the two countries’ efforts to establish a strategic cooperation which, according to official statements, aims to strengthen Chad’s stabilising role in the region. According to Orbán, cooperation with Chad could play a decisive role in stemming migration movements between Europe and Africa as well as combating terrorism in the Sahel.
Following the talks, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced specific details of the planned cooperation for the first time at a joint press conference with his Chadian counterpart Abderrahman Kulamallah. The cooperation would be based on the pillars of defense, economy and education, he explained. As part of the agreement on cooperation in the field of defense, both sides intend to strengthen the fight against terrorism through the mutual exchange of military expertise and experience. The Hungarian government, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, has also initiated the provision of 14 million euros from the so-called European Peace Facility to support the development of Chad’s defense capacities. This is an instrument financed by the EU Member States to strengthen the EU’s capabilities in the area of security and defense as well as peacekeeping worldwide. According to Szijjártó, the Hungarian proposal has been placed on the agenda of the meeting of the EU Committee of Ambassadors scheduled for 26 September. During the press conference, Szijjártó also explained that the Hungarian government would set up a financing mechanism worth 150 to 200 million euros for Chad, which Hungarian companies could use to help strengthen the agricultural and food sectors as well as develop the country’s water supply, education and digitalization. In addition, a development cooperation program worth 1 million US dollars is to be launched via the Hungary Helps Agency, the state agency for humanitarian aid and development, in order to improve healthcare in Chad. In the field of education, Szijjártó announced the creation of a scholarship to enable 25 students from the Central African country to study at Hungarian universities each year. The Hungarian representation in N’Djamena is also to be upgraded to embassy status.
In addition, the Hungarian armed forces are also set to provide military support to Chadian and international allies on the ground. The Hungarian government had already announced its plan to station around 200 soldiers in the Central African country for training purposes in October 2023, a plan that was approved by the Hungarian parliament shortly afterwards. However, the project has yet to be implemented. Following the forced withdrawal of French and allied troops from the neighboring countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Chad is the last Sahel country to host French servicemen and women. In June of this year, the French government announced its intention to reduce its troop presence in the country from 1,000 to 300.
Although Hungary has been in conflict with the EU for some time under Orbán’s government – as recently as June of this year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Hungary to pay a fine of 200 million euros after the country consistently refused to implement EU asylum rules – the EU also welcomed Hungary’s latest move. A spokesperson said that any cooperation between international partners and Chad was of great importance.
In other news
The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris came to an end on Sunday. With a total of 64 medals, the African athletes secured one medal more than at the last Games in Tokyo 2020. Of the 26 African nations taking part, ten won medals, including a total of 23 gold medals. Although Morocco was the most successful African country overall with 15 medals, Algeria finished in first place in the continental rankings with its six gold and five bronze medals, placing 25th in the international rankings. The second most successful African country was Tunisia with eleven medals, including five gold and three silver and bronze medals each. Morocco in third place was followed by Nigeria and Egypt with seven medals each, Ethiopia with three medals, South Africa with six, Namibia with two and Kenya and Mauritius with one medal each. Most of the medals (43 out of 64) were won in the para-athletics and para-powerlifting disciplines. With her bronze medal in SL3 singles badminton, 18-year-old Nigerian Mariam Eniola Bolaji became the first African ever to win an Olympic or Paralympic medal in this discipline.