Algerian presidential election, 2004
Encyclopedia
Presidential elections were held in Algeria
on April 8, 2004. The incumbent president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika
, was re-elected with 85.0 percent of the vote.
Votes cast: 10,508,777 (58.1%)
Invalid votes: 329,075 (3.1%)
Valid votes cast: 10,179,702
. Delegations of observers came from the Arab League
, the African Union
, the United Nations
, the European Parliament
and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
An OSCE spokesman said its small election monitoring
team observed no obvious electoral fraud
, and that the election, while not perfect, was excellent by regional standards and that it is "pretty clear" the results reflected the views of the Algerian people.
However, the Kabyle population boycotted the elections following the Arouch directives, only 10% (officially) of them went to vote.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
on April 8, 2004. The incumbent president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the ninth President of Algeria. He has been in office since 1999. He continued emergency rule until 24 February 2011, and presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002...
, was re-elected with 85.0 percent of the vote.
Candidates
- Ali BenflisAli BenflisAli Benflis is a politician in Algeria and former Prime Minister from 2000 to 2003. As of 2003, he is the general secretary of the National Liberation Front party. He was defeated in the Algerian presidential election of April 8, 2004 by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, taking only 6.4% of the...
: candidate of the Front for National Liberation (FLN) - Abdelaziz BouteflikaAbdelaziz BouteflikaAbdelaziz Bouteflika is the ninth President of Algeria. He has been in office since 1999. He continued emergency rule until 24 February 2011, and presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002...
: candidate of a coalition including the Islamist Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP) and the National Rally for DemocracyNational Rally for DemocracyThe National Rally for Democracy is a political party in Algeria. It is led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia.The RND was founded on February 21, 1997. The party held its Second Congress on May 15–17, 2003....
Assembly (RND), as well as a dissident faction of the National Liberation FrontNational Liberation Front (Algeria)The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
(FLN) - Abdallah DjaballahAbdallah DjaballahSaad Abdallah Djaballah is an Algerian politician and leader of the Movement for National Reform , an Islamist political party that he led in a breakout from the Islamic Renaissance Party , which he had created but lost control over. Djaballah stood for the presidency twice, in 1999 and 2004...
: candidate of the Islamic El Islah MovementMovement for National ReformThe Movement for National Reform is a moderate Islamist political party in Algeria. It received 9.5% of the vote in the 2002 elections and received 43 members of parliament.... - Ali Fawzi RebaineAli Fawzi RebaineAli Fawzi Rebaine is the leader of the Ahd 54 political party in Algeria.He is an optician and human rights-activist, and claims to have founded Algeria's first independent human rights association...
: candidate of the Ahd 54Ahd 54Ahd 54 , "Generation of '54", is a minor Algerian party led by human rights-activist Ali Fawzi Rebaine, who claims to have founded the first Algerian human rights organization. Its name is an allusion to the start of the Algerian War of Independence, in November 1954. In the 2007 election, it won...
Party - Louisa HanouneLouisa HanouneLouisa Hanoune is the head of Algeria's Workers' Party . In 2004, she became the first woman to run for President of Algeria. Hanoune was imprisoned by the government several times prior to the legalization of political parties in 1988...
: candidate of the Trotskyist Workers' PartyWorkers' Party (Algeria)The Workers' Party is a Trotskyist political party in Algeria, closely linked with the Workers' Party of France. The party is led by Louisa Hanoune.... - Said SadiSaïd SadiSaïd Sadi is an Algerian politician and President of the Rally for Culture and Democracy ....
: candidate of the secularist Rally for Culture and DemocracyRally for Culture and DemocracyThe Rally for Culture and Democracy is a political party in Algeria. It promotes secularism and has its principal power base in Kabylia, a major Berber-speaking region...
Results
Enrolled voters: 18,097,255Votes cast: 10,508,777 (58.1%)
Invalid votes: 329,075 (3.1%)
Valid votes cast: 10,179,702
Comments
There were about 130 official foreign observers in Algeria for these elections, which followed more than a decade of civil conflictAlgerian Civil War
The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1991. It is estimated to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives, in a population of about 25,010,000 in 1990 and 31,193,917 in 2000.More than 70 journalists were...
. Delegations of observers came from the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
, the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
An OSCE spokesman said its small election monitoring
Election monitoring
Election monitoring is the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or a non-governmental organization , primarily to assess the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation and international standards. There are national...
team observed no obvious electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
, and that the election, while not perfect, was excellent by regional standards and that it is "pretty clear" the results reflected the views of the Algerian people.
However, the Kabyle population boycotted the elections following the Arouch directives, only 10% (officially) of them went to vote.