ALGIERS: The Islamist candidate who lost out to incumbent Abdelmadjid Tebboune in Algeria’s presidential election filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court Tuesday, contesting the provisional result of the vote.
Abdelaali Hassani, who heads the moderate Islamist party the Movement of Society for Peace, said the day before he had “lost the battle but not the war” and denounced the results as a “fraud.”
He was one of just two challengers to Tebboune in Saturday’s election, the second being Youcef Aouchiche of the center-left Socialist Forces Front (FFS), who is also expected to appeal.
The North African country’s electoral authority, ANIE, announced on Sunday that Tebboune had won “94.65 percent of the vote,” with Hassani on 3.17 percent and Aouchiche 2.16 percent.
Hassani earlier denounced what he called “false figures” on voter turnout and demanded that the authorities put an end to the “masquerade.”
Tebboune, 78, had been widely expected to breeze through the election and was focused instead on securing a high turnout.
He was elected in December 2019 with 58 percent of the vote, despite a record abstention rate above 60 percent, amid the massive Hirak pro-democracy protests.
More than 24 million Algerians were registered to vote in this election, but ANIE did not say how many people turned out.
Instead, it announced a “provisional average turnout” rate of 48 percent, which many including Hassani and Aouchiche have disputed.
The Constitutional Court is set to announce the final results within 10 days of receiving the count from Algeria’s 58 provinces.
On Monday it said it had yet to receive all of them.
Algeria presidential candidate appeals election result
https://arab.news/4fnfj
Algeria presidential candidate appeals election result
- Abdelaali Hassani, who heads the moderate Islamist party the Movement of Society for Peace, said the day before he had “lost the battle but not the war“
- Hassani earlier denounced what he called “false figures” on voter turnout
Israel’s hostage forum releases AI-generated video of last Gaza captive
- The Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling
JERUSALEM: An Israeli group representing the families of Gaza hostages released on Tuesday an AI-generated video of Ran Gvili, the last captive whose body is still being held in the Palestinian territory.
The one-minute clip, created whole cloth using artificial intelligence, purports to depict Gvili as he sits in a Gaza tunnel and appeals to US President Donald Trump to help bring his body back to Israel.
“Mr President, I’m asking you to see this through: Please bring me home. My family deserves this. I deserve the right to be buried with honor in the land I fought for,” says the AI-generated image of Gvili.
Gvili was 24 at the time of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
He was an officer in Israel’s Yasam elite police unit and was on medical leave when he learnt of the attack.
He decided to leave his home and brought his gun to counter the Hamas militants.
He was shot in the fighting at the Alumim kibbutz before he was taken to Gaza.
Israeli authorities told Gvili’s parents in January 2024 that he had not survived his injuries.
The AI clip was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing those taken captive to Gaza.
The Forum said it was published with the approval of Gvili’s family.
“Seeing and hearing Rani speak in his own voice is both moving and heartbreaking. I would give anything to hear, see and hold him again,” Gvili’s mother Talik said, quoted by the Forum.
“But all I can do now is plead that they don’t move to the next phase of the agreement before bringing Rani home — because we don’t leave heroes behind.”
The Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.
In the first stage, Palestinian militants were expected to return all of the remaining 48 living and dead hostages held in Gaza.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, militants have released 47 hostages.
In the next stages of the truce, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump in Florida later this month to discuss the second phase of the deal.
