Digital Following | Presidential Candidate, Ali Benflis, Underlines Positive Emphasis of Role of Social Media in Politics

Ali Benflis, a candidate running in the 2014 Algerian elections, has a large social following that could help him etch out a win.

  

Social media plays an important role in politics these days, for better or for worse. By example, many of the Arab Spring rallies, some of which led to the downfall of entire governments, as was seen in Libya and in Egypt, and most recently in Syria, were fueled by organization that was only able to happen thanks to large social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Now, as Algeria prepares for an election that could unseat the fourth term of ailing current president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, incumbent rival, Ali Benflis, who used to work for the president before resigning from politics in 2004, could use his strong social media following to upset a race that many are already pegging as “rigged” before election day on April 17^th, 2014.

Social Following

A quick look at the Facebook page for Ali Benflis is telling of the support that the 70-year-old former prime minister currently enjoys. Amongst several Fan Pages that have been created for him, his current one boasts more than 14,000 followers. According to a Digital Journal Report, Benflis has also pledged to create an e-government and online system for the Algerian people if he is elected. Yet another Facebook Page displays more than 21,000 likes for Benflis, also telling of the influence that social media can have upon the election and political process as a whole. His Official Facebook Page boasts 162,000 likes as of last count. By comparison, his YouTube Channel now boasts more than hundreds of thousands of views and 900 plus subscribers at last check. And multiple Twitter sites boast thousands more followers in support of this man of the people.

If social media has taught us anything about how it can impact presidential elections, this is a telling sign. Still, with this much influence, Benflis is facing some pretty stiff odds, especially with concerns of election fraud ringing in the wind. According to an article by Digital Journal, Benflis is in the best position to defeat Bouteflika amongst five other contenders. His staunch support of civil rights and his flawless record as former prime minister may just help him garner enough votes to narrowly win this election and bring a much needed new and transparent government and presidency to Algeria.

In a recent Facebook poll, according to a report by Letempsdz.com, Benflis was top ranked in votes for his campaign.

Ailing Bouteflika’s Health Should Result in Election Withdrawal, Propel Ali Benflis to Favored Candidate

Ailing Bouteflika, the president of Algeria, has been literally invisible lately. His health concerns have candidates like Ali Benflis asking why he’s running again. 

The last time the public ever saw Ailing Bouteflika was on March 3^rd of this year, when he made a very short and brief television appearance to announce his presidential candidacy. A Daily Nation report inflected that this was first time that the president was even seen in two years, and that he has recently not even been taking phone calls or presidential visits, telling of his ailing health following a major stroke that hospitalized him. At 77-years-old, the president looked “frail” and ill, according to the report. He was barely able to speak, and he has not been seen since. With more than two years that separated that appearance from his last, the question that favored incumbent Ali Benflis has is: Why is he running for president when he’s too ill to get the job done?

A recent article on the Turkish Press said that Bouteflika was only responding to calls of the people to run for a fourth term. But this is contrary to the actual belief of the people in the country, who see a president sitting a third term illegally, one that was only made possible by revising of the constitution and making it legal for him to run for as many terms as he wants; something that used to be limited at two prior to his third election, one that was plagued by fraud and that has served as an outcry by politicians in this nation leading up the pending April 17^th election day. With most political parties boycotting the election, and with protests sweeping the country in favor of ousting the ailing president, it hardly seems like the people are calling for him to stay, but rather for him to step down and make way for much needed political change.

Then again, it’s also fair to consider that with how sick the president has become that he may also be senile. In the sense that he truly might believe that the entire nations wants him to run when it’s really quite the opposite. If the president heeds the actual call of the people and does step down, instead of pursuing a fourth term, Ali Benflis is the favored candidate to take the top post in this nation that’s trying to reinvent itself through much needed political change.

EARLY ELECTION FRAUD: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Claims to Have Millions of Signatures for His Campaign But Once Again Offers Scant Evidence

Ailing Algeria President Abdelaziz Bouteflika says he has millions of campaign signatures calling for his fourth term, but refuses to deliver any evidence.

It seems that you can’t indeed teach and old dog like Abdelaziz Bouteflika new tricks. He’s resorting to the same clandestine tactics that saw him illegally elected three times in a row. That said, his third election was entirely illegal. What does a dictator do to keep in office? Why they amend the constitution and make it legal for them to serve as many terms as they please, something that Bouteflika did internally without the backing of the people prior to running for his illegal third term in 2004 (and winning in a contest that many people say was entirely rigged).

Same Old Tricks, Same Old Sick Puppy

With his ailing health being in serious question, Bouteflika has not had much time to much of anything but to sit in a hospital bed. He’s only been seen in public one time in the past two years, on a TV address where he appeared to be very frail and very ill. That said, his newest announcement purports that he’s gathered millions of ballot signatures from people that desire for him to enjoy a fourth term of his dictatorship. Sources say that people have been forced to sign the forms or risk losing their jobs. Other sources purport that militants have moved from city to city either forging signatures or using intimidating tactics to force people to sign them. The AADL housing units in the slums were also approached, with many people saying they were forced to sign or lose their housing allowances, which they could not afford to do.

So it seems that you can’t, indeed, teach an old dog any new tricks. Abdelaziz Bouteflika is resorting to the same fraud that saw him seize power and keep it for the past 15 years. If so many people wanted him in office, then why would they be rallying behind Ali Benflis and demanding change. Then again, why would they protesting by the thousands in planned marches. And also, why would nearly every other political party be boycotting this election saying that it’s riddled with fraud and illegal? It’s been the same status quo since 2004, when Abdelaziz Bouteflika illegally gained a third presidential term.

One last thing: he claims these 4 million signatures were gathered in just a meager 48 hours, telling of how impossible an undertaking it truly was. And where’s the proof? That’s just it… none has been offered!

Algeria 2014 Elections Could be Rigged Once Again

The Algeria 2014 elections are set to commence in April with contesters abstaining out of worry of rampant fraud.

Once again, for the fourth time since the 90s, the presidential elections in Algeria are being labeled as a fraud – a rigging of a president that has seen three consecutive five-year terms, in spite of the fact that the constitution previously only allowed two maximum terms.

With the previously ailing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a man widely credited with helping to end the civil war in this nation that cost 200,000 lives, coming suddenly back onto the scene after taking a discernible leave of absence for much of the year due to health reasons, proponents have once again seen their hopes dashed.

Seeing as Bouteflika essentially controls the government with an iron fist, sacking those who do not do his bidding and replacing them with high level officials who do his bidding, his recent filing during the last 24 hour period to announce his candidacy has many citizens worried that things will remain as the status quo for yet another five years.

A recent Al Jazeera report shed light on the notion that the May legislative elections were widely pegged as fraudulent, with the ruling party, the National Liberation Front, claiming unprecedented turnout and speculated favorable votes.

When the Constitutional Council received Bouteflika’s filing this past week, many citizens were downcast in their hopes for a more prominent citizen like Ali Benflis, who is running without the NLF backing, to have a shot at a presidential bid.

In the Al Jazeera report, they undermined the reported turnout of 42.9 percent, stating that it was rigged so that people would think that enough turned out for it to be realistic and believable. The article specifically stated: “Electoral fraud by Algeria's government is normal practice and expected. All elections since 1992, when the regime annulled Algeria's only truly democratic elections, have been rigged.”

Will the Algeria 2014 presidential election be any different this time around for hopeful Ali Benflis? Only time will tell. If they are not, it could shatter the peace of this nation and lead to increased unrest.

Algeria 2014 Elections Could Be Marred by Deceptive Numbers

Can the Algeria 2014 presidential elections avoid the fraud that has cast a shadow over the previous ones?

For 15 years, Algeria has seen the same president rule at its helm: aging.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Now as the Algeria 2014 elections get underway – in April of this year – many are speculating that the fraud that has cast a shadow over them in the past will be just as rampant this time around.

In 2004, when Ali Benflis ran and was defeated, most other parties boycotted the elections, citing concerns of undeniable fraud. It was during this election that Bouteflika won his second term, later amending the constitution and winning a third term in 2009. Now, with his fourth term prospects looming, many are wondering if Benflis is the only hope for the people.

Case and Point

The most recent legislative elections in Algeria took place in May of 2012. They were widely considered to be rigged as well. According to a Gulf News report, observers stated about a 30 percent turnout nationwide, whereas the government stated nearly a 43 percent turnout, prompting a rash of reports citing fraud at the polling stations. With two parties dominating the elections in 2012 – FLN and Green Alliance – and taking a majority of the seats, the promise of a revised constitution and more efficacious elections has gone out the window with the two sister parties still controlling the government in the Algeria 2014 elections.

Benflis has been a favorite in recent times because he connects to the college graduates and the people. In a nation where graduates suffer a 20 percent unemployment ratio and where the oil rich nation has regular unrest from civilians who can’t find jobs, can’t afford to eat and have little or no utilities, a fourth term for Bouteflika could spell peril. 

Or the worst of what people have feared, an Arab Spring or outright civil war when 70 percent of the population is under the age of 35 and is being ruled by 30 percent, who is out of touch with the society they are supposed to be serving.