Campaigning for Algeria legislative poll closes

Campaigning for Algeria's parliamentary elections closed on Tuesday, four days ahead of a poll that the Hirak protest movement has urged voters to boycott. 

The June 12 elections will see voters choose 407 lawmakers from more than 13,000 candidates.

Mass demonstrations in 2019 forced longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to drop his bid for a fifth term in office and step down. The protest movement known as the Hirak has urged boycotts of all national votes since then. 

The latest poll follows two votes with the lowest turnouts in Algerian history -- Abdelmadjid Tebboune's December 2019 election as president, and a referendum on a revised constitution in November last year.

Tebboune was a former prime minister under Bouteflika.

Saturday's legislative election, originally planned for 2022 but brought forward, comes as authorities attempt to stamp out the protest movement, which returned to the streets in February following an almost year-long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.