Algerians in France Rush to the Polls
France's massive Algerian community turned out Saturday to vote in a presidential election widely expected to be won by ailing Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is running for a fourth term.
Voting opened early Saturday for the some 815,000 ex-pat Algerians, France's largest immigrant group, who are eligible to vote in the elections.
Polls remain open until Thursday, when the election takes place in Algeria.
At the Algerian consulate in Seine-Saint-Denis, a suburb to the east of Paris where more than 90,000 Algerians are registered, enthusiastic voters turned out from 8:00am (0600 GMT).
"I've always voted for Bouteflika. I know he will win," said one voter, 68-year-old Ahmed.
Stili, a 78-year-old former construction worker, proudly showed the indelible ink on his finger indicating he had cast his ballot.
"I came to vote on the first day to give an example, especially to the young," he said.
He also plumped for Bouteflika, who has been in power since 1999. "Even if he is old and sick, he is good for the country and has calmed it down," Stili told Agence France Presse.
Bouteflika, 77, has rarely appeared in public in recent months, and his decision to run for a fourth term has sparked criticism from senior political figures who have questioned his ability to rule after suffering a mini-stroke last year.
But he remains popular with many Algerians who credit him with helping to end a devastating civil war and contain Arab Spring protests.
"He's too old but have we found someone better than him?" asked Halima, 51, after casting her vote at the consulate in Nanterre, to the west of Paris.
"Since he's been there, the situation in the country has only improved."
However, despite the enthusiasm shown by many Algerians, one man, a supporter of Ali Benflis, Bouteflika's main rival, said he had been verbally abused for expressing his allegiance.
"I was called a traitor," said the man, an election observer for the Benflis camp, who declined to give his name.
"I noticed that a ballot paper had been put on the wrong pile, so I told them."
The man said he saw in Benflis "a hope for change" in Algeria.
Another Benflis election observer, Patricia-Fatima Houiche, 64, said she had had enough of "the old way of doing things and the cronyism".
She said that "the young French are behind Benflis" and against Bouteflika, whom she dismissed as a "handicapped and virtual president".
But there were signs that some of the younger voters were showing less enthusiasm for the Algerian election than their elders.
"It's not going to alter anything. The match has been decided in the changing rooms," said Karim, 28.
Kamel, 37, agreed, saying that Bouteflika "hasn't done anything in three terms in power".
"Look what the Turkish prime minister has managed in 10 years! We need to pass the torch to the young."
Source: Agence France Presse
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