Algerian troops march during a military parade in Tripoli on September 1, 2009 to mark the 40th anniversary since Kadhafi seized power in the north African desert state. The multi-million-euro anniversary celebrations of the bloodless coup that brought Kadhafi to power on September 1, 1969, are attended by African, Arab and Latin American leaders but largely ignored by the West. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD TURKIA (Photo credit should read MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images)
As Algeria Politics & Security – 12.05.17 explained, the official turnout figure for the 4 May elections was given as being 35.37% but — with approximately two million spoiled (‘blank’) ballots — the effective vote is reduced to around 27%. However, with the enormous number of stuffed ballots and other such irregularities,we estimated that the real turnout figure was only 12%-15%.
In the past week, commentators and participants in the election, including many political parties, have spoken about the high abstention rate. Most agree that the participation rate could not have been more than 20% so 80%-85% of registered voters abstained from voting.
This has sent a very clear message to the regime, the people, and the international community: that almost the entire population is opposed to the regime and has had enough of it.
It now looks, however, as if there is another equally important message coming from the ballot boxes. In past elections, the government has used the military vote — i.e. its roughly one million often duplicated votes representing the security forces (army, gendarmerie, police, etc.), and related services — to ensure a high vote for the ruling Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) and other government parties. In this year’s election, amidst the approximate two million spoiled papers, there were a very high proportion of blank papers, which are believed to have come from this military vote.
If this is the case, it shows that the army rank and file is no longer prepared to vote for the government parties, even when ordered to do so. In the privacy of the booth, they left their ballots blank.
As Louisa Hanoune — the secretary general of the Parti Travailliste (PT or Workers Party) — emphasised this week, this huge blank vote from the military heralds a new situation. It is, as she says, a ‘qualitative turning point’ and reveals that the military, which is forced to vote, is refusing to cooperate. Taken a step further, it suggests that the security forces personnel are not only expressing their opposition to the regime, but are sending a message that they may decide to join the population’s social struggles. … [article continues] …
This is an excerpt from an article in the latest edition of Algeria Politics & Security.
