Brussels, 11/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The legislative elections in Algeria, held on Thursday 10 May, took place in a “generally satisfactory” manner apart from a few, isolated incidents, said José Ignacio Salafranca (EPP, Spain), who headed the European Union observer delegation, as reported by the Algerian press. Speaking during a press briefing in Algiers just after closure of the polling stations, he pointed out that no fraud or attempt at corruption had been recorded. A preliminary report on the holding of the legislative elections will be presented on Saturday, and the final report on the elections will be published in two months' time.
Forty-four parties were in the running, including 21 new formations, seven Islamist parties and over 100 independent lists. Results were published late morning on Friday, showing a very low turnout (42.9%) albeit greater than for previous elections. (FB/transl.jl)