AfricaNews Monitoring Team
Algerians are voting today in a presidential election in which the incumbent, President Bouteflika is expected to be re-elected for a third term. So far voting is going on smoothly with only a trickle of voters making their way to polling stations. The opposition parties say the election is a farce.
The five other candidates in the race present no real challenge, and several opposition figures not taking part have urged their supporters either to put blank voting slips in the ballot box or stay at home.
Opposition candidates include two nationalists, two moderate Islamists and a woman veteran left-winger. But their posters are invisible in the capital, where the face of the incumbent adorns every available space, according to the BBC.
Bouteflika has promised to spend $150bn (£102bn) on development projects and create three million jobs, and stresses the fact that he has restored stability in Algeria.
The president has urged Algeria's 20 million registered voters to make the trip to polling stations, eager to enhance his authority by a high turnout.
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