The party of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and its coalition ally have won a clear majority in parliamentary elections, according to the interior ministry.

Bouteflika's National Liberation Front (FLN) won 164 of the national assembly's 462 seats in a poll overshadowed by low turnout, public disillusionment over a tepid economy and allegations of political corruption.

The FLN, which has dominated the North African nation's politics since its 1962 independence from France, lost a quarter of the seats it won in 2012 polls, according to preliminary results from Thursday's vote announced by Interior Minister Nourredine Bedoui on Friday.

But the FLN preserved its majority thanks to its ally, the Rally for National Democracy (RND), which won 97 seats, up from 68 in the last election.

The Movement of Society for Peace came in third with 33 seats. The remaining seats have gone to other parties and independent groups.

It was the worst result ever for the opposition since Algeria first held multi-party elections in 1990.

The official results will be announced by the constitutional council after any appeals.

The ministry said turnout was 38 percent, down from just over 43 percent in the 2012 election.

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Thursday's vote was marked by voter disillusionment over what many see as broken government promises on the economy and a political system tainted by corruption.

Mohamed Kirat, an Algerian professor of mass communications at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera: "The voters, especially the young ones, see that there is no change. They go to vote and still the same figures, the same political parties come again and again to power. The life standards of ordinary people remain the same."

Officials spent weeks before the poll trying to drum up enthusiasm among electors, launching a campaign dubbed "Let your voice be heard".

But many voters were put off by a scandal involving candidates accused of paying to have their names added to party lists.

Voters have also been put off by perceived stagnation in the political system and speculation over the health of their 80-year-old president, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke.

Bouteflika voted from a wheelchair at a polling booth in Algiers on Thursday in what was his first appearance before the international media since he was sworn in for a fourth term in April 2014.

Algeria weathered the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings with massive spending on wages and subsidies that depleted government coffers.

But a 2014 slump in crude oil prices forced the government to raise taxes and mothball many public projects.

Today, in a country of 40 million where half the population is under 30, one young person in three is unemployed.</s>Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's party and its coalition ally have won a clear majority of seats in parliament, results released by the interior ministry showed on Friday.

Bouteflika's National Liberation Front took 164 of the 462 parliamentary seats. Its coalition ally, the Rally for National Democracy, won another 97.

The National Liberation Front has been the sole ruling party since Algeria’s independence in 1962. Bouteflika has been in power since 1999, despite a stroke that has left him largely incapacitated.

In 2009 he won his third straight term as president, even though he was scarcely seen on the campaign trail.

Despite a 2012 law that requires at least 30 percent of parliamentary candidates to be women – and the emergence of small parties led by young people and focused on local issues – only a minority of Algerians bother casting ballots in parliamentary votes.

Political analyst Rachid Grim says Algerian politicians’ complete lack of credibility is the main reason behind voter apathy.

In a bid to raise awareness about the lack of political options, two parties – Jil Jadid (New Generation) and Talaie El-Houriyat (Vanguard of Liberties) – called on voters to boycott the election. That sparked an angry reaction from Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, who said those who wanted to throw their right to vote in the trash bin were welcome to do so, but that they should not push other Algerians towards “doubt and despair”.</s>The party of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and its coalition ally have won a clear majority of the seats in parliament, results released by the interior ministry on Friday showed.

His National Liberation Front (FLN), which has dominated the North African nation’s politics since independence in 1962, won 164 of the 462 seats. Its ally, the Rally for National Democracy (RND), won 97.

Two Islamist lists won 44 seats between them.</s>ALGIERS, May 5 (Reuters) - Algeria's ruling National Liberation Front party and its main allies won a majority in a parliamentary election overshadowed by the financial crunch from lower oil prices and questions over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health.

Turnout was only 38.25 percent, lower than 43 percent in the last election in 2012, reflecting general distrust among Algerians that a weak parliament can bring any change in a system dominated since 1962 independence by the FLN.

The FLN, with its roots in the war against colonial France, won 164 seats in the 462-seat National Assembly, but it lost considerable ground from the election five years ago when it won 221 seats, the interior minister said announcing results.

Coalition allies, the National Rally for Democracy or RND, won 97 seats, gaining from around 70 seats five years ago.

A moderate Islamist alliance led by MSP party, which has in the past supported Bouteflika and the pro-government coalition, won 33 seats in the parliament.

OPEC member Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe, is wrestling with reforms to cope with the fall in crude prices that is testing an economy heavily dependent on oil revenues and still mostly controlled by the state.

In power for nearly two decades, Bouteflika has been seen rarely in public since a stroke in 2013, and his health has left questions over a potential transition before his term ends in 2019 with no clarity on his possible successor. (Reporting by Patrick Markey and Lamine Chikhi)</s>Algeria's ruling National Liberation Front party and allies won a majority in a parliamentary election overshadowed by questions over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health and reforms to tackle the financial crunch from lower oil prices.

ALGIERS: Algeria's ruling National Liberation Front party and allies won a majority in a parliamentary election overshadowed by questions over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health and reforms to tackle the financial crunch from lower oil prices.

Government officials and party leaders worked hard to get voters out for an election seen by analysts as way of shoring up support for a system long dominated by the FLN. Bouteflika has been mostly absent from the public eye since a 2013 stroke.

Turnout for Thursday's election for the 462-member National Assembly was 38.25 percent, a fall from 43 percent five years ago, reflecting general distrust among Algerians that a parliament with few powers can offer any change.

The FLN, Bouteflika's own party with roots in the war against colonial France, won 164 seats in the assembly, considerably less than the 221 it took five years ago.

Coalition ally the National Rally for Democracy (RND) won 97 seats, gaining from around 70 seats five years ago.

A moderate Islamist alliance led by the MSP party, which had played an opposition role but has moved back to supporting Bouteflika and the pro-government coalition, won 33 seats.

"Algerians generally believe only the president can affect any change and implement reforms," said local political analyst Farid Ferrahi. "They see the parliament very negatively."

A veteran of the independence war that ended in 1962, Bouteflika is generally praised for bringing OPEC member Algeria out of a 1990s conflict with Islamist militants and for overseeing a period of high oil prices and vast public spending.

But after nearly two decades in power, Bouteflika has been seen mostly in brief television images since his stroke. His health has raised questions over a potential transition before his term ends in 2019, with no clarity on who would replace him.

In the 2012 election, FLN and RND won a majority after playing the security card in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring revolts that toppled leaders in neighbouring Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Many Algerians remain wary of upheaval after their own civil war killed 200,000 people.

Thursday's election is expected to be followed by the shakeup in the cabinet of Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal though it is not clear whether he will stay on as premier.

The ballot came at a delicate time for Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe and a partner in Western campaign against Islamist militancy in North Africa and the Sahel region.

Algeria's leadership is wrestling with how to progress with reforms to cope with the dramatic fall in crude prices that is testing an economy heavily dependent on oil revenues and still mostly controlled by the state.

The government has already cut public spending and has begun to slowly adjust the vast oil-financed welfare system, from cheap housing to subsidised fuel and food programmes, that has helped ease social tensions in the past.

More than half of Algerians are under 30, and many young people say they have little connection to the rhetoric of their country's ageing leaders, many of whom draw their legitimacy from their ties to the 1954-1962 colonial war.

The president, who turned 80 in March, voted from a wheelchair on Thursday helped by his young nephew. In his first public appearance since late last year, he shook hands with polling workers but did not speak.

With no clear successor having emerged, political parties and leaders have been positioning for potential change. The FLN and RND leaders clashed during the election campaign over which party was closest to Bouteflika.

Few observers see the Algerian leadership risking anything but a smooth transition in a system where decisions often emerge after behind-the-scenes power struggles among the FLN old guard and army chiefs who see themselves as guardians of stability.

"With this election, no major opposition party boycotted," said Robert Parks, a political scientist specialising in the North Africa. "They all participated because they know on the immediate horizon some significant changes are going to occur."</s>Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's party and its coalition ally have won a clear majority in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results released by the interior minister on Friday.

Bouteflika's National Liberation Front (FLN), which has dominated the North African nation's politics since its 1962 independence from France, won 164 of the national assembly's 462 seats, Interior Minister Nourredine Bedoui said.

That is down from 221 in the outgoing parliament.

The FLN's ally, the Rally for National Democracy (RND), won 97 seats, up from the 68 seats it took in the previous poll in 2012.

Two opposition Islamist lists won 48 seats between them.

The official results will be announced by the constitutional council after any appeals.

The ministry said turnout reached 38 percent, down from just over 43 percent in the 2012 election.

Thursday's vote was marred by voter disillusionment over what many see as broken government promises and a political system tainted by corruption.

The North African country weathered the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings with massive spending on wages and subsidies that depleted government coffers.

But a 2014 slump in crude oil prices forced the government to raise taxes and mothball many public projects.

Today, in a country of 40 million where half the population is under 30, one young person in three is unemployed.</s>The ruling National Liberation Front (FNL) and its coalition ally have won a majority of seats in Algerian parliamentary elections marked by a low turnout.

The Interior Ministry said on Friday that about 38 percent of 20 million eligible to vote actually cast ballots. Analysts said bribery scandals during the campaign have deepened long-running distrust of politicians.

Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui told a press conference that FLN, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's party, won 164 of the 462 seats in the lower house of parliament.

Former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia's Rassemblement National Democratique — FLN's coalition ally — finished second with 97 seats.

The Islamist party, Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), joined forces with the Front for Change, securing 33 seats.

Oil and natural gas drive Algeria's economy, accounting for 30 percent of its GDP. Low oil prices have hammered the government, and youth unemployment hovers around 25 percent. Young Algerians tend to look to Europe for their futures, and the French election on Sunday has been getting far more attention than the legislative vote in the former French colony.</s>The party of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and its coalition ally have won a clear majority of the seats in parliament, results released by the interior ministry on Friday showed. His National Liberation Front (FLN), which has dominated the North African nation’s politics since independence in 1962, won 164 of the 462 seats. Its ally, […]

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Results from yesterday's election give a reduced majority of seats to Abdelaziz Bouteflika's incumbent coalition.