Will Algerians Boycott Upcoming Elections to Demand Systemic Change?

The Hirak protest movement

On Feb. 10, 2019, longtime Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth term despite his poor health. Six days later, the Revolution of Smiles, or Hirak (Arabic for “movement”), swept Algeria’s streets, demanding the corrupt regime’s departure in favor of democracy. These peaceful mass protests were attended by a cross-section of secularists, Islamists, professionals and a diversity of ethnic groups, and had no precedent since Algeria’s Civil War in the 1990s.

After five weeks of sustained demonstrations, Bouteflika was forced to resign on April 2, 2019, leaving the Hirak movement to face the actual rulers: the military and political elites that Algerians refer to as “le pouvoir” (the power). The army pretended to support the protesters’ cause initially, pushing Bouteflika out and arresting political and business figures linked to him. Ultimately, however, the military is the dominant political actor and has no interest in changing the system.

Rallying under the slogan “Yetnehaw gaa” (“Get them all out”), the people knew that if the army simply replaced Bouteflika with another puppet, none of their demands would be met, and millions continued protesting bi-weekly. As journalist Ilhem Rachidirecounts, “Along with public and popular debates as well as cultural events, they transformed and enlivened the country by drawing its citizens around the rejection of its longtime rulers and political elites.”

When a general election was called in December 2019, Algeria’s current president Abdelmajid Tebboune was elected with 58 percent of the votes in a turnout of less than 40 percent. The parliamentary election saw an even lower voter participation of 30 percent.

The 2019 election was widely boycotted because all five candidates had ties to Bouteflika; Tebboune previously acted as prime minister under him. Upon his dubious election, he echoed the need to adhere to the protesters’ demands, before installing a new, widely ignored constitution that further reinforced presidential powers and cracked down on human rights and liberties even more ruthlessly than Boutfelika’s regime had.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic gave authoritarian governments an excuse to escalate their powers in the name of containing the spread of the virus. In Algeria, as in other countries across the region, the restriction of gatherings was used to undermine political organizing. The Hirak’s bi-weekly protests effectively came to a halt, but returned in February 2021. The movement was determined to see its vision through, but faced increasing difficulties when even social media activism led to prosecution.

Tebboune, and by extension the military, is determined to kill the Hirak’s vision. Earlier this year, he amended the penal code to make it easier to arrest dissidents on political charges. An unprecedented number of journalists and activists have been imprisoned, their organizations dissolved, and independent media outlets shut down.

“You can’t have a normal life,” Algerian journalist Merzoug Touatitells Rachidi. “When you get out of your house, you look left and right, to check if someone is surveilling and when you leave, backwards to check if someone is following you. If someone is staring at you, you get nervous… And you also have the judiciary procedures, the obstacles to earning your livelihood.”

Today marks the conclusion of the electoral campaign which took place amidst a climate of intimidation and censorship. Was it convincing enough to bring 24 million voters to the booth? Or will they heed to the opposition’s call to once again boycott an orchestrated event that serves the regime’s civilian facade instead of the country’s citizens?

Regardless of the election’s voter turnout, Tebboune is expected to win. “The current president still has a better image than the two other candidates [who] are unfamiliar to the majority of the Algerian people,” says Boumadi. “While Tebboune might be criticized for numerous reasons, he is considered to be the safe bet for Algerians. Young people have already been disappointed by the outcome of the Hirak, and the inability of the movement to lead to systemic changes.”

The 2019 Hirak’s demands beyond “getting them all out” varied. As Algerian academic and journalist Abdelkader Cherefwrites, “Among [the movement’s] shortcomings were lack of structure, absence of leadership, lack of consensus between diverse ideologies, and uncertain long-term strategies.” While it is natural for an alliance of millions to be multi-vocal, disunity often contributes to the failure of a protest movement to grow into long-lasting change.

“The Hirak movement is definitely over,” says Boumadi. “But people, especially young people, are now more politically aware than ever before.” The 2019 Revolution of Smiles may have faded, but Cheref is certain that future Hiraks will emerge.

-

Over the course of 2024, 20 African countries will be holding elections. For more election coverage, check out our Election Tracker.