Algerian Presidential Election: Return of Political Discourse in Mosques

On Monday, August 19, the Director of Religious Affairs of the Wilaya of Skikda issued a circular (see copy) to the imams of this district, inviting them to adhere to the instructions of the Minister of Religious Affairs to dedicate the Friday sermon on August 23 to the presidential election scheduled for September 7.

Thirty-five years after the outbreak of a civil war that claimed 250,000 lives due to the use of political discourse in mosques, we are back to square one. However, this time, it is the holders of power who are using this religious discourse to mobilize the population to go to the polls en masse on election day. An election whose results are known in advance.

This misstep was initially the work of President-candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who cited a hadith (a saying of the Prophet) out of context. Since everything is allowed for the president-candidate, no one dared to call Abdelmadjid Tebboune to order. This is, at least, the role and mission of the National Independent Election Authority (ANIE), chaired by Mohamed Charfi. A president who witnessed the massive fraud in the December 2019 presidential election.

In the circular from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, imams are called upon to raise awareness among the faithful by reminding them of the values of citizenship and patriotism, expressing everything that highlights the sense of love for the homeland and loyalty to block the path to all the enemies of the nation. All this is to encourage citizens to turn out in large numbers on September 7. If the future tenant of the El-Mouradia Palace is known in advance, the shadow decision-makers are determined to achieve a much higher turnout than that of December 2019, which was 39.83% according to the Ministry of the Interior. A figure that many observers believe is far higher than the real figure, which did not exceed 20%. With, notably, a zero turnout in the wilayas of Tizi-Ouzou and Béjaïa.

Will the intrusion of religion into politics succeed in influencing the population in the direction desired by those in power? It’s hard to believe.

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