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Algeria to vote in presidential poll amid crackdown on protesters

As Algeria’s presidential elections approach, protesters are taking to the streets to voice opposition to holding the vote before the protest movement’s activists are released from detention.
Pro-government supporters take part in a demonstration in favour of the upcoming presidential election in Algiers, Algeria December 9, 2019. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina - RC2QRD9C73ME

With the presidential elections just days away, Algeria’s embattled government is scrambling to imbue the Dec. 12 poll with a legitimacy that many in the streets across Algeria unequivocally reject.

In the last few days, prominent journalist Mahrez Rabia was dismissed from the national TV station for what many regard as his public support for Algeria’s protest movement, or hirak, which opposes the forthcoming elections. The pro-government General Union of Algerian Workers marched Nov. 30 in support of the December elections, while a televised debate between the candidates, intended to underscore the vote’s legitimacy, has been criticized for a lack of transparency by one of the organizations that was initially invited to help produce it. 

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