Algeria Thursday held its first polls since the Arab Spring, with an official turnout figure poised to belie deep voter disaffection over the prospect of a political status quo. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s National Liberation Front (FLN), the former single party, and its two government allies, including the country’s main legal Islamist party, were confident of victory ahead of the polls. Foreign observers said the legislative election process was marred only by minor incidents but the electoral commission said it had received many complaints of irregularities. Speaking on state television with a framed picture of 75-year-old Bouteflika behind him when polling officially closed, Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said 34.95 percent had voted by 1630 GMT. That paves the way for a significantly higher turnout than the historical low of 35 percent recorded in 2007, but many Algerians are deeply suspicious of official figures.
