Who's Who in Algeria's Disputed Election

People carry their national flags as they protest over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to postpone elections and extend his fourth term in office, in Algiers, Algeria March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
People carry their national flags as they protest over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to postpone elections and extend his fourth term in office, in Algiers, Algeria March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
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Who's Who in Algeria's Disputed Election

People carry their national flags as they protest over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to postpone elections and extend his fourth term in office, in Algiers, Algeria March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
People carry their national flags as they protest over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to postpone elections and extend his fourth term in office, in Algiers, Algeria March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Algeria faces a presidential election on Thursday that is rejected by the opposition.

These are some of the main players.

THE ARMY

Algeria's army chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah has become the most powerful figure in Algeria this year.

Born in 1940, he fought in Algeria's war of independence from France and cemented his role as a top general in the 1990s civil war, before then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika named him army chief in 2004.

Though the military has long been at the center of the Algerian state, it has used the protests to purge rival factions including the once all-powerful internal security department.

THE OPPOSITION

The protest movement emerged in the spring as hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated when it became clear Bouteflika would seek a fifth term.

Known as the Hirak - Arabic for 'movement' - the protesters have no formal leadership and organize themselves through discussions on social media.

They demand that the old guard give up power, an end to corruption, and that the military quit politics. They reject any election while the old guard retain power as meaningless.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

The electoral commission, a theoretically independent body, approved five of the 23 candidates who applied to run in the election. They are:

Abdelmadjid Tebboune, once a close Bouteflika ally, was prime minister for less than three months in 2017 but was sacked when he tried to take on powerful business figures accused of corruption.

Ali Benflis, prime minister from 2000-03, ran unsuccessfully for president twice against Bouteflika.

Former culture minister Azzeddine Mihoubi, who is backed by the FLN, Algeria's long-standing ruling party, despite its earlier statements that it would not support any candidate.

The former tourism minister, Abdelkader Begrine, had previously held a role in a moderate Islamist movement.

Abdelaziz Belaid, a former FLN central committee member, later set up El Mostakbal Movement party and was defeated by Bouteflika in the 2014 presidential election.

THE OUSTED OLD GUARD

Bouteflika, also a veteran of Algeria's war of independence, helped end the 1990s conflict between the state and extremist militants and was made president in 1999.

After he was pushed from power in April, his brother and de facto regent Said Bouteflika was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conspiring against the army.

Their main rival in the power structure, internal security chief Mohamed Mediene, was jailed alongside him.

While many other Bouteflika allies are also on trial or in prison, some of his network retain powerful positions, including interim president Abdelkadar Bensalah and prime minister Noureddine Bedoui.



Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
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Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa

Hatem Abdelhamid stands amid his once-thriving date palms in northern Sudan, helpless as a prolonged war-driven power outage cripples irrigation, causing devastating crop losses and deepening the country's food crisis.

"I've lost 70 to 75 percent of my crops this year," he said, surveying the dying palms in Tanqasi, a village on the Nile in Sudan's Northern State.

"I'm trying really hard to keep the rest of the crops alive," he told AFP.

Sudan's agricultural sector -- already battered by a two-year conflict and economic crisis -- is now facing another crushing blow from the nationwide power outages.

Since the war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, state-run power plants have been repeatedly targeted, suffering severe damage and ultimately leaving farms without water.

Like most Sudanese farms, Abdelhamid's depends on electric-powered irrigation -- but the system has been down "for over two months" due to the blackouts.

Sudan had barely recovered from the devastating 1985 drought and famine when war erupted again in 2023, delivering a fresh blow to the country's agriculture.

Agriculture remains the main source of food and income for 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Now in its third year, the conflict has plunged more than half the population into acute food insecurity, with famine already taking hold in at least five areas and millions more at risk across conflict-hit regions in the west, center and south.

The war has also devastated infrastructure, killed tens of thousands of people, and displaced 13 million.

A 2024 joint study by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that nearly a third of rural households have lost irrigation and water access since the war began.

Without electricity to power his irrigation system, Abdelhamid -- like thousands of farmers across the country -- was forced to rely on diesel-powered pumps.

But with fuel scarce and prices now more than 20 times higher than before the war, even that option is out of reach for many.

"I used to spend 10,000 Sudanese pounds (about four euros according to the black market rate) for irrigation each time," said another farmer, Abdelhalim Ahmed.

"Now it costs me 150,000 pounds (around 60 euros) because there is no electricity," he told AFP.

Ahmed said he has lost three consecutive harvests -- including crops like oranges, onions, tomatoes and dates.

With seeds, fertilizers and fuel now barely available, many farmers say they won't be able to replant for the next cycle.

In April, the FAO warned that "below average rainfall" and ongoing instability were closing the window to prevent further deterioration.

A June study by IFPRI also projected Sudan's overall economic output could shrink by as much as 42 percent if the war continues, with the agricultural sector contracting by more than a third.

"Our analysis shows massive income losses across all households and a sharp rise in poverty, especially in rural areas and among women," said Khalid Siddig, a senior research fellow at IFPRI.