Blida, Algeria – Election day was an emotional moment for many Algerians who had to decide if they would accept their president’s request to forget the violence of a civil war that left more than 100,000 people dead and to instead offer amnesty to many of those responsible.
It was nearly silent early Thursday morning but for a few sobs and the shuffle of feet along the dirt paths of the Martyrs Cemetery here. Men and women whose relatives were killed during the civil war visited the graves of their loved ones.
It was a tearful protest and a forceful “no” to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.
Polls opened across Algeria on Thursday morning, and the authorities were predicting a large turnout from the nation’s 18 million eligible voters, though polling places in the capital and surrounding areas were largely empty much of the day.
Results were not expected to be available until today, and Bouteflika was hoping a commanding victory would give him the power to move the country in a direction of his choosing.
Since taking office with the support of the military in 1999, Bouteflika has managed to consolidate his authority while other institutions – like the judiciary and the parliament – remain relatively weak.
The referendum would continue Bouteflika’s consolidation of power. The referendum includes terms that would grant amnesty to terrorists who committed all but the most heinous crimes, and that would effectively exonerate government security forces for any connection to killings, torture or kidnappings. It also grants the president broad authority in deciding how to implement all of the terms of the referendum.
Many people were expected to accept the president’s offer, which amounts to trading away a call for justice and accountability in return for a promise of peace and stability.
The document has been sharply criticized for not offering any process for exposing crimes of the past, and for centering so much power in the president.
