Algiers - Algerian voters head to the polls on Thursday to elect a new parliament amid fears of voter apathy and opposition calls for a boycott. The polls will be the first since Algerian politicians amended the constitutional law, giving more power to the legislature.

More than 12,000 candidates are competing for the 462 seats of the People's National Assembly (APN). Up to 23 million voters are registered to elect members of the parliament's lower house for a five-year term.

The National Liberation Front (FLN), that has dominated the country's political scene since Algeria gained independence from France in 1962, and its coalition ally the Rally for National Democracy (RND), led by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's senior adviser Ahmed Ouyahia, have a large majority of seats in the two houses. It is most likely that they will retain it.

Opposition parties, which mostly boycotted the 2014 presidential election, have split over whether or not to run for this year's election.

READ MORE: Algerian media faces 'hostile environment'

For the past month, Algiers' old buildings have been plastered with larger than life posters showing men and women holding a voting card. Except for those giant billboards, however, there are little to no signs on the streets that Algeria is gearing up for the elections.

Few of the opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Ali Benflis' movement and the Jil Jadid (Arabic for New Generation) political party, have called for the boycott of the legislative election, saying that the opaque regime has already chosen the winners.

However, the majority of the opposition parties have finally decided to take part in the electoral process.

On one hand, the secularists are represented by the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), Algeria's oldest party, and Rally for Culture and Democracy (RDC). On the other hand, Islamist parties have formed two large coalitions: The Muslim Brotherhood's Movement of the Society For Peace (MSP) is campaigning with The Front for Change (FC), while the Front for Justice and Development (FJD) have reached an agreement with Ennahdha and El Bina, two Islamist-leaning smaller parties.

Observers say this should be the last parliamentary election under Bouteflika's rule given the elderly president's fragile health. In February, the 80-year-old leader, who came to power almost two decades ago, cancelled at the last minute a meeting with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, leading to further speculation about his health.

I could not care less. The outcome of the election has already been decided. Our votes will not be taken into account so why should I bother to go to the polls? Karima, a 32-year-old manager at a marketing agency

According to the revised constitution, parliament members now have a say in appointing the prime minister and any parliamentary group from the opposition can choose an agenda to be discussed in monthly sittings.

This election, analysts say, comes at a crucial moment, not for the candidates, nor for the Algerian citizens, but for the ruling administration.

Beyond the result, "what is actually at stake is the turnout because the leaders need a legitimacy and are afraid of all those demonstrations turning revolutionary," Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, a research analyst at Carnegie Middle East Centre, told Al Jazeera, pointing out to mass protests that erupted across Algeria's Sahara in 2016.

The authorities want to do better than 2012, when less than 43 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots. It remains the country's lowest participation rate at a general election.

To counter voters' apathy, the government has launched a campaign "Samaa sawtek" (Arabic for "Make your voice heard"), urging voters to flock to the polls and instructing the local media to ignore the boycott movement.

Last Saturday, Bouteflika, who has barely been seen in public since suffering from a stroke in 2013, called upon the voters, in a letter released by the state-owned news agency APS, to "vote massively to reinforce political and security stability in the country".

But, despite the government's strenuous efforts, the Algerian voters, particularly the young population, have shown little interest in the electoral campaign.

On social media, the boycott movement is even getting viral.

For example, Algerian podcaster Chemseddine Lamrani, otherwise known as DZjoker, posted a video on YouTube explaining why he would not vote. The video went viral and has been viewed more than three millions times in less than a week.

Many Algerians say they see little reason to cast their votes since the polls are rigged. "The new election-monitoring body and the delegation of European Union's observers, who will oversee the voting, can do nothing against the government's manipulation. As long as this autocratic regime is in power, I am convinced that no independent and transparent poll can be held in Algeria," said Mohand Kadi, a 25-year-old civil rights activist. Kadi believes that "only a grassroots movement can challenge "Algeria's long-lasting status quo".

"In the meantime, I am aware that abstention will benefit pro-government forces," he told Al Jazeera.

Such a view was echoed by another young Algerian. "I could not care less. The outcome of the election has already been decided. Our votes will not be taken into account so why should I bother to go to the polls?", Karima, a 32-year-old manager at a marketing agency, who has never voted, told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Anger brewing in Algeria's sullen south

According to analysts, the boycott represents a "highly political act". "Algerians suffer from political fatigue. They have the feeling that whatever they will do, vote or not, the results are known beforehand," Ghanem-Yazbeck said.

Similarly, Habib Brahmia, a 30-year-old member of the Jil Jadid, who does not want to take part in this "political farce", said: "Algerians don't vote because they are not interested in politics. The people don't want to vote because they know that it won't offer a real change".

Brahmia argued that, despite recent reforms, the parliament will continue to be a rubber-stamping and controlled body. "The regime adopts minor changes instead of pushing for a true democratic transition," he regretted.

Fraud is not the sole reason why Algerians are expected to avoid polling stations.

Economic difficulties, resulting from the global energy price crisis, have seen austerity decisions brutally imposed on the oil-producing country. Earlier this year, the government adopted a new package of spending cuts to cope with plummeting oil prices, increasing the price of the subsidised fuel and electricity, raising taxes and freezing public-sector hiring.

However, Algeria, which heavily relies on hydrocarbon-generated revenues, ran a budget deficit of 12 percent of GDP last year, while its foreign reserves have been steadily declining from $196bn in 2014 to $114bn.

The economic downturn is exacerbating social tension throughout Africa's largest country. People are furious about the growing inflation, with import restrictions pushing up the prices of goods, such as food.

"Today, we are more worried about the increasing cost of living than by the outcome of the upcoming election," Kadi concluded.</s>ALGIERS, May 4 (Reuters) - Algerians vote on Thursday for a new parliament likely to hand a majority to the ruling FLN party and its allies, though turnout is traditionally low for elections to a National Assembly many voters dismiss as weak.

The ballot comes at a sensitive time for Algeria as the OPEC member tackles the economic impact of low global oil prices and a potential transition from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who has been seen rarely since a 2013 stroke.

The National Liberation Front (FLN), which has dominated Algerian politics since independence from France in 1962, and the pro-government National Rally for Democracy (RND) are widely expected to win against a weak, divided opposition that includes leftists and Islamists.

The 462-seat National Assembly has limited powers in the presidential system where lawmakers have a five-year term. A new constitution allows parliament a say in naming the prime minister but critics see it as a rubberstamp assembly.

In the 2012 election, FLN won 221 seats and the RND 70 seats by playing the stability and security card following the 2011 Arab Spring revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But turnout was just 43 percent.

Results for Thursday's vote will be announced on Friday morning by the interior ministry.

In power for nearly two decades, Bouteflika is widely praised for bringing the country out of a decade-long 1990s war with Islamist militants that killed 200,000 people and left many Algerians still wary of instability.

Government officials and ruling parties mostly appealed to security and continuity, with door Libya still in chaos next door following the civil war to oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A veteran of the war against colonial France, Bouteflika also oversaw a period of high oil prices that financed a massive welfare system from cheap housing and subsidised fuel and food programmes with roots in Algeria's post-independence socialism.

The FLN and RND benefit from association with Bouteflika and the government's public spending. They also gain from a low turnout as core supporters among the elderly, public workers and armed forces are most likely to vote. It also has a strong party machinery in rural areas.

Many Algerians still see Bouteflika as a symbol of continuity, but more than half of the population is under 30 and many young people say they have little connection to the historical rhetoric of their country's aging leadership.

"For five years we don't see congressmen and we have no right to talk to them, then they ask for our vote? Why should we, it's wrong," said Idir, a student in downtown Algiers.

The collapse of oil prices in mid-2014 has also bought new challenges for an economy still mostly state-run, dependent on energy revenues for 60 percent of its budget and reliant on imports because of feeble national production outside energy.

Falling earnings -- state oil company Sonatrach revenues fell to $27.5 billion in 2016 versus $60 billion in 2014 -- have forced the government to cut spending and start the sensitive task of reforming subsidies on cheap fuel and electricity. (Reporting by Patrick Markey)</s>STARKVILLE, Miss.(WCBI)—The old saying goes: “all politics is local” it doesn’t get much more local than city elections, but voter turnout in yesterday’s municipal primaries is being called shockingly low.

For many starting in elementary school on to college, the importance of voting is always highlighted.

” Municipal elections are incredibly important and actually often overlooked. You’re talking about the day to day lives for people. That’s not to say that state and federal elections aren’t impacting people. The turn around in these municipal elections is a matter of weeks, months. The minute these individuals are placed in office they can impact our lives immediately,”said MSU Stennis Institute Executive Director Dallas Breen.

According to Heavy.com, In the 2016 presidential election, an estimated 57 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot.

Dallas Breen with the MSU Stennis Institute says it may seem more important to vote national when there are so many flashing lights.

” The glamour factor isn’t there in a municipal elections. Most people, I would guess, know that November is the time for the presidential elections. People see these big adds and money spent on presidential elections. So people think, “I have to go vote.” Municipal elections, the primary elections, are held at awkward times. Elections are held at different times and so people aren’t necessarily counting the days until,”said Breen.

Lance Thompson is a registered voter. He says he steers clear of the local election.

“Previous voting terms, I honestly felt like they were rigged and it wouldn’t matter who I voted for. They were going to put in whoever they wanted in,”said Thompson.

However the only way to impact change in your area, is to speak up.

“As a citizen we have a lot of things that we want, a lot of things that we want to accomplish and our voice is basically our leaders. I think if we get out and we have an opportunity to exercise our right to vote that is also having you’re voice heard,”said voter Saunders Ramsey.

West Point continues the downward trend in voter turn out. The voter turn out is down 1,000 people from the 2013 elections.</s>ALGIERS, May 4 (Reuters) - Algerians voted on Thursday in a parliamentary election expected to hand the ruling FLN and allies a majority as the government deals with low oil prices and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's absence since a 2013 stroke.

Turnout is traditionally low in elections for the 462-seat National Assembly which many Algerians see as offering little change to a political system dominated since independence by the FLN, and social media has conveyed a sense of apathy among younger voters.

The National Liberation Front (FLN) and the pro-government National Rally for Democracy (RND) are widely expected to win against a weak and divided opposition that includes leftists and Islamist party alliances.

"You have to vote. You can never leave the ballot box empty," said Morad Saadi, 49, a cleaning products salesman voting at school in central Algiers, where voters, mainly the elderly and families, showed up early.

The National Assembly has limited powers in the presidential system where lawmakers have a five-year term. A new constitution allows parliament a say in naming the prime minister but critics see it as a rubberstamp assembly.

In the 2012 election, the FLN won 221 seats and the RND 70 seats by playing the stability and security card following the 2011 Arab Spring revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But turnout was just 43 percent.

Results for Thursday's vote will be announced on Friday morning by the interior ministry.

In power for nearly two decades, Bouteflika is widely praised for bringing the country out of a decade-long 1990s war with Islamist militants that killed 200,000 people and left many Algerians still wary of instability.

Government officials and ruling parties mostly appealed to security and continuity, with a reminder of the risks of upheaval in nextdoor Libya still in chaos following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A veteran of the war against colonial France, Bouteflika also oversaw a period of high oil prices that financed a massive welfare system from cheap housing and subsidised fuel and food programmes with roots in Algeria's post-independence socialism.

But a stroke in 2013 left him in a hospital for months. Since then he has mostly been seen in brief state television images greeting dignitaries. He was re-elected in 2014 but did not campaign, only voting from a wheelchair on election day.

A cancelled visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in February revived speculation about the state of his health. No successor has yet emerged from his supporters.

The FLN and RND benefit from association with Bouteflika and the government's public spending. They also gain from a low turnout as their core supporters among the elderly, public workers and the armed forces are the most likely to vote. In addition, the FLN have a strong party machinery in rural areas.

Many Algerians still see Bouteflika as a symbol of continuity.

But more than half of the population is under 30, and many young people say they have little connection to the rhetoric of their country's leadership.

With the economy largely run by the state, many young Algerians complain there are few opportunities for them.

During campaigning, social media reflected a lack of interest among younger voters. One video by local comedian DZ Joker pulled nearly 4 million views on YouTube with a take on Algeria's social problems entitled "Mansotich" a wordplay on "I will not jump" to refer to voting.

"For five years we don't see congressmen and we have no right to talk to them. Then they ask for our vote? Why should we, it's wrong," said Idir, a student in downtown Algiers.

The collapse of oil prices in mid-2014 has bought new challenges for an economy still mostly state-run, dependent on energy revenues for 60 percent of its budget and reliant on imports because of feeble national production outside energy.

Falling earnings -- state oil company Sonatrach revenues slumped to $27.5 billion in 2016 from $60 billion in 2014 -- have forced the government to cut spending and start the sensitive task of reforming subsidies on cheap fuel and electricity.

Government officials say they want to reform the costly subsidy system but they promise to maintain key benefits that have helped Algeria weather social tensions in the past - including during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)</s>Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events On Thursday, Algeria will hold elections for the country's 462-seat National Assembly. The elections are organized on the backdrop of steadily declining participation rates and widespread voter indifference.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Washington Post.</s>Algerians will vote for a new parliament Thursday as the government grapples with soaring unemployment and a deep financial crisis caused by a collapse in oil revenues.

But despite the urgent problems facing the North African country, candidates have found a public disillusioned by an opaque political system and what many see as the government’s failure to keep its promises.

Officials, fearing a low turnout, have spent weeks urging voters to take part in the poll.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal called for a “massive vote”, urging women to wake their husbands early, refuse them coffee and “drag” them to the polling stations.

“If they resist, hit them with a stick,” he told an all-female audience in the eastern city of Setif.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a 2013 stroke impaired his speech and mobility, has said a strong turnout was essential for “the stability of the country”.

The authorities have even used mosques to spread the message, with imams urging Algerians to vote.

But voters have showed little enthusiasm.

In a video posted online days before polling day and seen by more than two million people, one Algerian said government vows to solve an acute housing shortage and improve health care had not been kept.

Sellal on Saturday urged those angry about the state of the economy “to be patient”.

“There is no more money” in state coffers, he admitted in a speech reported by local media.

In 2011, high oil revenues allowed huge rises in wages and subsidies, helping Algeria to weather the Arab Spring.

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

In a country of 40 million, half of them aged under 30, one young person in three is unemployed.

Despite that, Bouteflika’s National Liberation Front (FLN) party is expected to keep its majority in parliament along with its coalition ally, the Rally for National Democracy (RND).

In the 2012 election, the FLN, which has ruled Algeria since independence in 1962, won 221 seats in the 462-seat People’s National Assembly.

Islamists, who hold 60 seats in the outgoing parliament, represent the country’s main opposition force.

In the last election, held a year after Arab Spring-inspired street protests, they had hoped to replicate the gains of their peers in Egypt and Tunisia.

Instead, they suffered their worst ever electoral defeat.

This year, they have formed two major coalitions in an attempt to do better.

But since Algeria adopted a multi-party system in 1989, the opposition has regularly accused the ruling parties of electoral fraud.

Turnout has often been low, registering 43.14 percent in 2012 — slightly higher than the 35.65 percent recorded in 2007.

Even those figures, experts say, were inflated.</s>Early voter turnout for Saturday’s city and school district elections was up in McAllen, but down in Brownsville. McAllen, in fact, saw the most early votes cast since 2005, when Richard Cortez was elected mayor. And it seems to be the mayor’s race this year, too, that got people to the early voting polls.

Numbers from the McAllen City Secretary’s Office show 5-thousand-476 early votes cast in McAllen, where there is also a contest for District 2 on the City Commission.

In Brownsville, early voter turnout is being described as significantly lower than in past elections. 3-thousand-529 early ballots were cast. There is no mayoral election in Brownsville this year, although there are races for three City Commission seats – in District 3, 4, and At-Large B. Election day is tomorrow with polls open from 7 til 7.</s>FLN and ally widely expected to win but many voters seem disillusioned amid soaring unemployment and a financial crisis.

Algerians headed to the polls on Thursday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by a deepening financial crisis and predictions of a low turnout.

Voting was extended by an hour in 42 of the 48 electoral districts, closing at 8pm (19:00 GMT), with the first results expected late on Friday morning.

More than 12,000 candidates are competing for the 462 seats of the People's National Assembly. The election was the first since Algerian politicians amended the country's constitutional law, giving more power to the legislature.

Unofficial reports estimated that nearly 15 percent of the country's 23.3 million voters had cast their ballots by 12:00 GMT, or five hours after the polling started.

Some 45,000 police officers were deployed on Thursday to guard the more than 53,000 polling stations across the country.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, voted from a wheelchair at a polling booth in Algiers.

It was the ailing 80-year-old leader's first appearance before the international media since he was sworn in for a fourth term in April 2014.

Wearing a suit and tie, he went behind a curtain to mark his ballot, which one of his nephews slipped into the box, and posed for photographers without making any comment.

Bouteflika's National Liberation Front (FLN) and its coalition ally, the Rally for National Democracy, have enjoyed a comfortable majority since a 2012 poll, which they are expected to retain.

But Nourredine Bekis, professor of sociology at the University of Algiers, said parliamentarians had little real influence.

"The president holds all the power," Bekis told the AFP news agency.

Islamist parties, who held 60 seats in the outgoing parliament, represent the country's main opposition force.

In 2012, they had hoped they could replicate the gains of their peers in Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring, but they suffered their worst ever electoral defeat. This year, they have formed two electoral alliances in bids to do better.

Few of the opposition parties, including former Prime Minister Ali Benflis' movement and the Jil Jadid (Arabic for New Generation) political party, have called for the boycott of the legislative election, saying that the winners had been chosen before the election.

Since the adoption of a multi-party system in 1989, the opposition has repeatedly accused the ruling parties of electoral fraud.

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.

Algerians have shown little enthusiasm for the election, with many saying they see little reason to cast their votes since the polls are rigged.

"I could not care less. The outcome of the election has already been decided. Our votes will not be taken into account so why should I bother to go to the polls?", Karima, a 32-year-old manager at a marketing agency, who has never voted, said.

Blida's cafes filled with men who sat discussing the election, but not all planned to vote.

"This facade of a parliament should be abolished. The government passes all its laws, even the most controversial ones," Hocine, 35, told AFP.

Mohamed, 65, said he was voting "to elect deputies who will relay the demands and the struggles of the society. This is the only issue in this election".

But officials, fearing a low turnout and public apathy, spent weeks urging people to take part.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal called for a "massive vote", urging women to wake their husbands early, refuse them coffee and "drag" them to the polling stations.

"If they resist, hit them with a stick," he told an all-female audience in the eastern city of Setif.

Bouteflika has said a strong turnout was essential for the country's stability.</s>Election workers count ballots at the end of voting for the parliamentary election in Algiers, Algeria, May 4, 2017. — Reuters picALGIERS, May 5 — Algerians voted yesterday for a new parliament amid soaring unemployment and a deep financial crisis caused by a collapse in oil revenues.

But despite urgent challenges facing the country, candidates have struggled to inspire voters disillusioned by what many see as broken government promises and a tainted political system.

“Corruption has plagued politics. How can you vote for a candidate who has paid to be selected by a party?” asked Ali, a merchant in the town of Blida, 45 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Algiers.

He was referring to a scandal which has filled Algerian newspapers of candidates having paid for their names to be added to party lists.

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.

Some 45,000 police officers were deployed yesterday to guard the more than 53,000 polling stations across the country.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, voted from a wheelchair at a polling booth in Algiers.

It was the ailing 80-year-old leader’s first appearance before the international media since he was sworn in for a fourth term in April 2014.

Wearing a suit and tie, he went behind a curtain to mark his ballot, which one of his nephews slipped into the box, and posed for photographers without making any comment.

Voting was extended by an hour in 42 of the 48 electoral districts, closing at 8pm and the first results are expected later this morning.

Algerians have shown little enthusiasm for the election. Streets of the capital were nearly deserted in the morning.

Interior Minister Nourredine Bedoui told state television voter participation at 5pm stood at 35.53 per cent.

French-language daily El Watan spoke of “popular disinterest in this election”, widely expected to maintain the dominance of the two pro-Bouteflika parties in parliament.

Blida’s cafes filled with men who sat discussing the election, but not all planned to vote.

“This facade of a parliament should be abolished. The government passes all its laws, even the most controversial ones,” said Hocine, 35.

Mohamed, 65, said he was voting “to elect deputies who will relay the demands and the struggles of the society. This is the only issue in this election”.

But officials, fearing a low turnout and public apathy, spent weeks urging people to take part.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal called for a “massive vote”, urging women to wake their husbands early, refuse them coffee and “drag” them to the polling stations.

“If they resist, hit them with a stick,” he told an all-female audience in the eastern city of Setif.

Bouteflika has said a strong turnout was essential for the country’s stability.

The authorities have also used mosques to spread the message, with imams urging Algerians to go to the polls.

Bouteflika’s National Liberation Front (FLN) and its coalition ally, the Rally for National Democracy (RND), have enjoyed a comfortable majority since a 2012 poll, which they are expected to retain.

But Nourredine Bekis, professor of sociology at the University of Algiers, said parliamentarians had little real influence.

“The president holds all the power,” Bekis said.

Islamists, who held 60 seats in the outgoing parliament, represent the country’s main opposition force.

In 2012, they had hoped they could replicate the gains of their peers in Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring, but they suffered their worst ever electoral defeat.

This year, they have formed two electoral alliances in bids to do better.

But since Algeria adopted a multi-party system in 1989, the opposition has repeatedly accused the ruling parties of electoral fraud.

Turnout in 2012 reached just over 43 per cent. Experts say even that figure was inflated.

But 80-year-old Si Sadou Yamina said yesterday she was voting to do her “duty”.

Battling pain, diabetes and hypertension, she arrived at a polling booth in Blida before it even opened at 8am.

“I’ve never missed a vote, and I’m not going to start today,” she said. — AFP</s>Algerian voters looked set to hand the ruling FLN and its allies another five-year mandate in a parliamentary election on Thursday overshadowed by low oil prices and concerns over the health of the country's elderly president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

ALGIERS: Algerian voters looked set to hand the ruling FLN and its allies another five-year mandate in a parliamentary election on Thursday overshadowed by low oil prices and concerns over the health of the country's elderly president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Turnout is traditionally low in elections for the 462-seat National Assembly, which many Algerians see as offering little change in a political system dominated since independence in 1962 by the FLN, and social media has captured a mood of apathy among younger voters.

The National Liberation Front (FLN) and the pro-government National Rally for Democracy (RND) are widely expected to win against a divided opposition that includes leftists and Islamist party alliances. Smaller parties have boycotted the vote.

"You have to vote. You can never leave the ballot box empty," said Morad Saadi, 49, a cleaning products salesman voting at a school in central Algiers, where voters, mainly the elderly and families, showed up early.

Government officials and ruling parties have tried to rally voters under the slogan "Let your voice be heard", mostly appealing to worries over security and continuity.

The interior ministry will announce the results of the vote on Friday morning.

The National Assembly has limited powers in the presidential system. A new constitution allows parliament a say in naming the prime minister but critics see it as a rubberstamp assembly.

In the 2012 election, the FLN won 221 seats and the RND 70 seats by playing the stability and security card following the 2011 Arab Spring revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But turnout was just 43 percent.

Bouteflika, 80, voted in Algiers from a wheelchair, helped by his young nephew. The veteran leader shook hands with police and polling station staff, but did not speak. Besides television images, it was his first public appearance since late last year.

In power for nearly two decades, Bouteflika is widely praised for bringing the country out of a decade-long 1990s war with Islamist militants that killed 200,000 people and left many Algerians still wary of instability.

Bouteflika, a veteran of the war against colonial France, also oversaw a period of high oil prices that financed a massive welfare system from cheap housing and subsidised fuel and food programmes with roots in Algeria's post-independence socialism.

But a stroke in 2013 left him in hospital for months. Since then he has mostly been seen in brief state television images greeting dignitaries. He was re-elected in 2014 but did not campaign himself.

The FLN and RND benefit from association with Bouteflika and the government's public spending. They also gain from a low turnout as their core supporters among the elderly, public workers and the armed forces are the most likely to vote. In addition, the FLN have a strong party machinery in rural areas.

But more than half of Algeria's population is under 30, and many younger people say they feel little connection to the rhetoric of their country's leadership.

With the economy largely run by the state, many young Algerians complain there are few opportunities for them.

During campaigning, social media has reflected a lack of interest among younger voters. One video by local comedian DZ Joker pulled nearly 4 million views on YouTube with a take on Algeria's social problems entitled "Mansotich" a wordplay on "I will not jump" to refer to voting.

"For five years we don't see congressmen and we have no right to talk to them. Then they ask for our vote? Why should we, it's wrong," said Idir, a student in downtown Algiers.

The collapse of oil prices in mid-2014 has bought new challenges for an economy still dependent on energy revenues for 60 percent of its budget and reliant on imports because of feeble national production outside energy.

Falling earnings - state oil company Sonatrach revenues slumped to US$27.5 billion in 2016 from US$60 billion in 2014 - have forced the government to cut spending and start the sensitive task of reforming subsidies on cheap fuel and electricity.

Government officials say they want to reform the costly subsidy system but promise to maintain key benefits that have helped Algeria weather social tensions in the past, including during the Arab Spring uprisings.
Voter turnout is predicted to be low as Algerians go to the polls to elect members of the People's National Assembly.