Algerian Tebboune seeks re-election, touts win

The Hirak protests, which led to the ouster of longtime autocratic President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019, aimed to achieve comprehensive political reform. Tebboune, a minister under Bouteflika, took over the presidency in December of that year after widespread boycotts of elections as the movement was suppressed and its leaders jailed. Now, as he campaigns for the Sept. 7 election, Tebboune says he has managed to right the country’s past wrongs with a broad range of achievements and promises more if re-elected. Despite more than 100 weeks of demonstrations, Tebboune has “rejected the democratic transition demanded by millions of citizens,” said Hasni Abidi, an Algeria analyst at the Geneva-based CERMAM Study Center. Abidi said a change of leadership alone was not enough to usher in a “new era,” despite Tebboune’s frequent references to a “new Algeria.” Even as his first term draws to a close, Tebboune still faces the “difficulty of bringing about profound change”, he said. Algeria-based political commentator Mohamed Hennad said that change would have to be primarily political. “As long as political issues are not resolved legitimately, any economic, cultural or diplomatic discourse is a distraction,” he told AFP. The Hirak movement withered away with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with a widespread crackdown on protesters. Hundreds have been arrested and dozens remain in custody or face prosecution, according to prisoners’ rights group CNLD. ‘We have suffered a lot’ Since taking office, Tebboune has claimed to have put Algeria back on track, often referring to Bouteflika’s final years in power as the “mafia decade” in which control of the oil-rich country was concentrated in the hands of a “gang”. During his tenure, several businessmen, ministers and politicians of the time, including Bouteflika’s brother Said, were convicted of corruption and jailed. Tebboune also credits himself with successfully transforming Algeria into an emerging economy, now Africa’s third-largest. However, Abidi points out that Tebboune’s success has been aided by a “favorable international environment,” with the war between Ukraine and Russia driving up natural gas prices in favor of Algeria, the continent’s largest exporter. This economic windfall has allowed Tebboune to “make speeches about local interests that are steeped in populism,” Abidi said, promising free housing, raising the minimum wage and increasing social pensions. At a recent rally in Oran, Tebboune pledged to create 450,000 jobs and increase monthly unemployment benefits if re-elected. Unemployment benefits, which began in 2022, now offer 13,000 dinars ($97) to people aged 19 to 40, and Tebboune has promised to raise that to 20,000 dinars, currently the minimum wage. Despite these promises, critics have said social and economic progress under Tebboune has been slow. But the president often defends his record by saying his achievements have come despite “a war against Covid-19 and corruption” in the wake of the Hirak movement. Abdelhamid Megunine, a 20-year-old student in Algiers, remembers that period with bitterness. “We suffered a lot,” he told AFP. “Prices and the cost of living have gone up since then.” Although Algeria’s economy has grown by about 4 percent in the past two years, with foreign exchange reserves of $70 billion, it remains heavily dependent on oil and gas. Hydrocarbon exports account for about 95 percent of the North African country’s hard currency earnings, which are crucial to sustaining social welfare programs. Diplomacy On the foreign policy front, Tebboune’s tenure has seen a mix of successes and challenges. Algeria gained international attention in January when it became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, where it has been a strong advocate for Palestinian rights. However, relations with neighbors, particularly Morocco, have deteriorated, largely due to the ongoing dispute over Western Sahara. Algeria, a strong supporter of the territory’s pro-independence Polisario Front, severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in August 2021 following escalating tensions over Western Sahara and Rabat’s decision to normalize ties with Israel. Likewise, relations with France, already strained over a history of colonialism, recently took a hit. Last month, French President Macron said Morocco’s autonomy plan was the only solution for Western Sahara, which the United Nations still considers a “non-self-governing” territory. Algiers responded by withdrawing its ambassador from France. The government condemned the move as a “step that has never been taken before by another French government.”