Algerians vote #WengerOut in parliamentary elections amid mass apathy

The Algerian interior ministry is faced with dealing with a low turnout of Thursday’s elections, despite the Algerian government taking measures as far as encouraging women to hit their husbands if they refuse to take to the polls.

The Algerian ministry of interior said that more than 2.1 million votes were withdrawn on the account of invalidity, without further elaborating.

However, photos on social media emerged of Algerians mocking the elections, which have been marred by mass apathy, by submitting various photos and food wrappers instead of their votes.

A print-out demanding the departure of Arsenal football club's manager Arsene Wenger was also submitted.

A total of 12,000 stood for 462 seats in the People's National Assembly.

Out of the 8 million votes submitted, only 6 million of them were considered valid, with a registered electorate of 23 million.

Anticipating a low turnout, Algerian officials had spent weeks convincing people to go to the polls.

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 used a wheelchair and rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has said a strong turnout was essential for "the stability of the country".

Algerian authorities had even used mosques to spread the message, with imams urging Algerians to go to the polls.

The election ended with Bouteflika's National Liberation Front (FLN) winning 164 of the national assembly's 462 seats.