Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been declared the winner of Saturday’s presidential election in Algeria.

Mohamed Charfi, head of the Algerian electoral commission, told journalists on Sunday that Tebboune, the incumbent president, had won with over 90 percent of the votes.

“Of 5,630,000 voters recorded, 5,320,000 voted for the independent candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accounting for 94.65 percent,” he said.

Charfi said, while announcing the results, that the body had worked to ensure transparency and fair competition among all candidates.

The closest contenders, Abdelaali Hassani Cherif and Youcef Aouchiche, amassed three percent and two percent of votes respectively.

The total turnout was said to have been 48 percent.

Cherif’s campaign team reportedly said polling station officials were pressured to inflate results.

The campaign team, citing its own rallies from regions, added that the candidate had won far more votes than had been announced.

Throughout the campaign period, activists and international organisations, including Amnesty International, railed against the campaign season’s “repressive atmosphere” and the alleged harassment and prosecutions of those involved in opposition parties, media organisations and civil society groups.

During his campaigns, Tebboune had promised to raise unemployment benefits, pensions and public housing programmes, all of which he increased during his first term as president.

He was first elected in 2019 during the mass “hirak” (movement) protests that forced Abdulaziz Bouteflika from power after 20 years.

The protests brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets every week for more than a year demanding an end to corruption and the ousting of Bouteflika.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Kamala Harris has Russia’s support in the forthcoming US presidential election.

Harris is up against Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, in the race for the White House. Trump is widely perceived as Putin’s ally.

Speaking in a tongue-in-cheek manner at the Eastern economic forum in Vladivostok on Thursday, Putin said Russia would follow US President Joe Biden’s lead and back Harris ahead of the vote.

“We will do the same, we will support her,” Putin said with a chuckle.

“She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that everything is fine with her.”

The Russian leader said Trump oversaw the most sanctions on Russia as US leader.

“Ultimately, the choice is up to the American people, and we will respect that choice,” he said.

Last month, Trump praised Putin’s leadership style, saying he was on top of his game.

The former US president also claimed that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were president because he would have stood up to Putin.

In 2016, US intelligence agencies accused Russia of running a disinformation campaign to boost Trump’s electoral chances against Hillary Clinton. Russia denied the claims.

Moscow has also been accused of interfering in the 2024 US election.

Burkina Faso has issued new biometric passports without the logo of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) — solidifying its decision to withdraw from the regional bloc.

Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso severed ties with the 15-member body after sanctions were imposed on them in the wake of military coups.

ECOWAS said the countries have to return to constitutional order if they want the sanctions lifted.

All three countries have since accused the alliance of abandoning the spirit of pan-Africanism for selfish interests.

Although ECOWAS only issued a suspension, the countries have denounced plans to return.

Mahamadou Sana, Burkinabe security minister, announced the passport facelift on Tuesday.

“On this passport, there’s no ECOWAS logo, and no mention of ECOWAS either. Since January, Burkina Faso has decided to withdraw from this body, and this is just a realisation of the action already taken by Burkina Faso,” Sana said.

Out of 198 passports globally, Burkina Faso’s ranks 78 with access to 60 visa-free destinations including ECOWAS member-countries, according to the Henley passport ranking.

ECOWAS said the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger would undermine the freedom of movement and common market of the 400 million people living within the 50-year-old bloc.

President Bola Tinubu, ECOWAS chairman, and his team have been persuading the trio to reconsider their decision to exit.

Tinubu also said the bloc would remain friendly to the countries.