Algerians in Tunisia prepare for expatriate vote

2009-04-06

Thousands of Algerians living in Tunisia will vote in the upcoming presidential election at eight polling stations across the country.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 06/04/09

[Getty Images] Algerians residing in Tunisia will vote in the presidential election on April 7th.

Thousands of Algerians living in Tunisia will be able to vote in the Algerian elections on April 7th at eight polling stations set up across the country.

For the past two weeks, Algerian consulates in the capital and the provinces of El Kef and Gafsa have conducted a media campaign to urge Algerians to take part in the election.

The campaign utilises print and broadcast media, phone and mail messages and direct contact, as well as a website for communication between the community and the General Consulate in Tunis.

Voters attended a political briefing on March 29th in the meeting hall at the Cultural and Sports Complex in El Menzah, which was decorated with Algerian flags and posters.

Chakib Jouhri, President of the Algerians' Association in Tunisia, told Magharebia that turnout for the meeting was reassuring, promising high turnout for the vote on Election Day.

Jouhri said staff members at the Algerian consulate have assisted the association in urging Algerians residing in Tunisia to do their electoral duty.

"I think this election is an opportunity for us to emphasise our allegiance to our homeland of Algeria," said Nasreddine Bejaoui, who has Tunisian and Algerian parents. "It's an important election for me, especially as I will be voting for the first time to choose the president of the country who will guarantee us stability and economic revival."

Moez Kaci, meanwhile, hopes that the next president will give new hope to Algerians, whether inside or outside the country. "We are in need of a strong president who will put an end to the remnants of extremism and violence, and create development projects that will guarantee stability and prosperity for Algerians," he said.

Others hope Abdelaziz Bouteflika will be elected for a third term. Nadia, an insurance worker in the Tunisian capital, said the current leader is "the only one who can maintain stability, confront the gangs of violence, and continue the development movement started years ago".

The Algerian News Agency cited General Consul of Algeria in Tunis Abdelkarim Sarray as saying that "the preparations for the next election, especially raising awareness among Algerian nationals on the different legal and regulatory stages, in addition to mobilising all the necessary human and material capabilities to guarantee the good conduct of the poll, are going well." The eight polling stations in the Tunisian capital and its suburbs will, according to Sarray, "enable the voters to exercise their right and civil duty at the best possible circumstances and in full transparency."

Chakib Jouhri said some 9,000 Algerian voters have registered in the capital to participate in the poll, out of the roughly 20,000 living in Tunisia. "We tried to get the polling stations nearer to the voters by adding four new polling stations, bringing the total to eight."

El Kef province on the Algerian border is home to the second most concentrated Algerian community in Tunisia. The largely rural area counts more than 6,000 registered Algerian voters.

The community is sparse enough in El Kef that the Algerian Consulate depends primarily on direct contact to appeal to voters. It also involved local radio stations in the adjacent Algerian provinces of Tabsa, Annaba, and Souk Ahras, which reach residents on both sides of the border.

Sources in the Algerian embassy told Magharebia that the authorities have earmarked 6m euros to finance the electoral process for the Algerian overseas community, devoting 80% to France alone.