Opponents Dispute Referendum Results

Opponents of Algeria’s military-backed government disputed official results that showed 86% of Algeria’s voters approved a referendum banning Islamic parties from government and giving the president more power. With a turnout of 79%, the referendum to revise the constitution was opposed by just 14% of voters, Interior Minister Mustafa Benmansour said. But opposition parties and many Algerian journalists suggested turnout figures and results were fabricated. The high figures, combined with tightened control of foreign press coverage, harkened back to the era of single-party rule that ended in 1989, they said.