This archive report was first published on 15 December 2019.
Algeria's presidential poll on December 12, 2019, was met with widespread skepticism, with many Algerians boycotting the election in protest of the country's entrenched elite.
Despite a reported turnout of 40%, the poll was widely seen as a sham, with demonstrators calling for a boycott and the ruling elite pushing for a victory that would maintain the status quo.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a former housing minister under ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was declared the winner with 58% of the vote, but the results were met with widespread anger and frustration.
The protests, which began in early 2019, were sparked by an economic crisis and the country's long history of corruption and human rights abuses.
Former Sudanese despot Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in April 2019, was also making headlines as he faced trial in Khartoum on charges of corruption and war crimes.
The International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant for Bashir in 2009, accusing him of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.
