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.