FRANCE: Algerians living in France cast their vote for the upcoming general election with supporters of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika saying he is still fit to run the country and critics saying time has come for change

Record ID: 574336

  • Title: FRANCE: Algerians living in France cast their vote for the upcoming general election with supporters of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika saying he is still fit to run the country and critics saying time has come for change
  • Date: 13th April 2014
  • Summary: MARSEILLE, FRANCE (APRIL 13, 2014) (REUTERS) VIEW OVER MARSEILLE'S HARBOUR VARIOUS OF STREETS MAN ON BALCONY OUTSIDE POLLING STATION FOR ALGERIA ELECTION, ELECTORAL POSTERS ELECTORAL POSTER SHOWING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ALI BENFLIS ELECTORAL POSTER SHOWING ALGERIAN PRESIDENT AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ABDELAZIZ BOUTEFLIKA PEOPLE ARRIVING AT POLLING STATION VARIOUS OF POLLING STATION MAN TAKING BALLOT PAPERS BALLOT PAPER FOR BOUTEFLIKA VOTER SKANDER AND FRIEND (SOUNDBITE) (French) SKANDER, 34, SAYING: "As far as I am concerned, I am behind Bouteflika, even when he is 160, I am in favour for Bouteflika !" MAN IN POLLING BOOTH MAN GETTING OUT OF THE POLLING BOOTH AND CASTING HIS VOTE FINGERPRINT ON REGISTER (SOUNDBITE) (French) FATIA, 28, SAYING: "If he is running again, it shows that he still has the capacity to rule our country, that's what I think, otherwise, he would not have run. We have trusted him, we were right to trust him, and we continue to trust him." BALLOT PAPER ENTERING BALLOT BOX WOMAN VOTING ALGERIA IDENTITY CARD BALLOT PAPER FOR BENFLIS (SOUNDBITE) (French) KADER, 44, SAYING: "I am against those in power in Algeria, I can say it, and I am for Ali Benflis. And I do not believe it's a done deal, this is just some propaganda from those in power who want us to believe that it's a done deal, therefore one has to take part in the vote, one has to try, and we don't succeed this time, it's no big deal, we'll make it in the next vote, but we have to try and we'll try until we succeed". KADER TALKING WITH ANOTHER BENFLIS SUPPORTER ALGERIAN FLAGS KADER, HAMED AND OTHERS TALKING (SOUNDBITE) HAMED, 46, SAYING: "I don't hold much hope that there'll be a positive outcome for these elections. I think it's already set, by the whole administration that surrounds us, in Algeria and here, the administration that is cheating There you are." HANDS PICKING BALLOTS VOTER PICKING BALLOTS CAFE MEN SITTING OUTSIDE CAFE INSIDE CAFE, ZOHEIR SERVING CLIENTS AND HAMZA SITTING AT TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (French) ZOHEIR, 40, SAYING: "For the last 40 years, I've been hearing the words: we are rich, we have petrol, we have gas, but there are many people who have nothing at all. Who is benefiting from this ?" HAMZA AT TABLE CIGARETTE IN HANDS (SOUNDIBTE) (French) HAMZA, 30, SAYING: "I can already give you the results of the election today. Abdelaziz Bouteflika is going to be first, followed by Benflis, because he is his accomplice." ZOHEIR SERVING CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (French) HAMZA SAYING: "Where is he ? Does he exist ? Does he not ? (JOURNALIST ASKING IF HE IS THE ONE RULING THE COUNTRY) He is not the one ruling, that's for sure, it's sure. It's not him, it's some generals." STREET WITH CAFE TWO MEN TALKING PEOPLE ON STREET
  • Embargoed: 28th April 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA16VQLTLBNQFBQY561BTQ28MHW
  • Story Text: Algerian citizens living in France voted Sunday (April 13) to elect the next president in their home country.
    The vote in France began on Saturday (April 12) and will end on Thursday (April 17) which is the same day Algeria will be voting.
    Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has no serious rivals for re-election in Thursday's ballot, but he has not campaigned himself and has only rarely spoken in public since suffering from a stroke last year.
    Instead, former Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal campaigned for his re-election.
    With 140,000 Algerians and 69,000 voters registered, the region Bouches-du-Rh�e et le Vaucluse in southern France has one of the biggest community of Algerians in the former colonial power.
    Many live in the regional capital Marseille and this has earned the port city the nickname of Algeria's '49th Wilaya' or province.
    Many of those living here have both French and Algerian nationalities.
    Nine polling stations have been set up by the Algerian embassy in the region.
    Fatia and Skander said they would vote for Bouteflika, saying the 77-year-old veteran of Algeria's independence war was still fit to govern.
    "As far as I am concerned, I am behind Bouteflika, even when he is 160, I am in favour for Bouteflika," said Skander, who came to vote with his son and a friend.
    "If he is running again, it shows that he still has the capacity to rule our country, that's what I think, otherwise, he would not have run. We have trusted him, we were right to trust him, and we continue to trust him," said Fatia, who came with her son.
    With the support of the powerful Front de Liberation Nationale party (FLN), which has dominated Algerian politics since independence from France, most observers say Bouteflika faces little challenge from the five election rivals.
    For opposition leaders, though, the re-election bid by an ailing leader is the last gasp of the old guard of FLN party elites and army generals who see themselves as the guardians of stability and have mostly resisted change.
    Critics say Algeria needs hefty reforms to open up an economy heavily dependent on energy revenues and to attract more foreign investors, who are wary of the restrictions and bureaucracy of the largely state-controlled system.
    Kader, a dual French and Algerian citizen living in France since 1982, campaigned for Bouteflika's challenger, Ali Benflis.
    "I am against those in power in Algeria, I can say it, and I am for Ali Benflis. And I do not believe it's a done deal, this is just some propaganda from those in power who want us to believe that it's a done deal, therefore one has to take part in the vote, one has to try, and we don't succeed this time, it's no big deal, we'll make it in the next vote, but we have to try and we'll try until we succeed," Kader said.
    Many feared unlawful elections and Kader said he would stay in the polling station throughout the weekend to try and prevent irregularities. In France, representatives of all candidates were present in the nine regional polling stations.
    In the 1980s, the FLN had already ended one-party rule, introducing a multi-party system that eventually allowed Islamists to come to the brink of winning power.
    Observers say Algeria is still mostly being governed through behind-the-scenes manoeuvring between FLN clans and the military, an establishment known as "Le Pouvoir", French for "The Power", which has left little room for strong opposition.
    Hamed said he believed elections will be 'manipulated'.
    "I don't hold much hope that there'll be a positive outcome for these elections. I think it's already set, by the whole administration that surrounds us, in Algeria and here, the administration that is cheating," Hamed said.
    In Marseille, many decided to stay away from the polling station, saying their vote would not change an election which result will be manipulated.
    "For the last 40 years, I've been hearing the words: we are rich, we have petrol, we have gas, but there are many people who have nothing at all. Who is benefiting from this," asked Zoheir, a restaurant manager who has been living in France for 16 years.
    Zoheir's client, Hamza shares his opinion.
    "I can already give you the results of the election today. Abdelaziz Bouteflika is going to be first, followed by Benflis, because he is his accomplice," Hamza said. "He is not the one ruling, that's for sure, it's sure. It's not him, it's some generals."
    Anti-government protests are still rare in Algeria, but the main rival opposition parties have joined forces to boycott Thursday's election, which they say is unfairly tilted in FLN's favour.
    A small movement called Barakat or "Enough" has been staging weekly demonstrations in Algiers and in other cities against a fourth term for Bouteflika, but has drawn only small numbers.
    More common are sporadic protests over high unemployment, housing, services and economic opportunities.
    Wary of potential social unrest in 2011, Bouteflika hiked spending on subsidies, housing and credits and job creation programmes to ease tensions. With nearly $200 billion in reserves from energy income, Algeria still has a large financial cushion.
    Bouteflika's opponents say subsidies are a short-term remedy that leave the country vulnerable to a sharp fall in oil and gas prices, especially if new bidding rounds fail to attract the foreign investment that is badly needed to revive stagnant output.
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