Polling stations for Algeria's presidential election were closed nationwide at 20:00 local time (1900 GMT) on Saturday, with the vote counting now underway as representatives of the three candidates observe the tallying.
The presidential race involves three candidates: the incumbent 78-year-old President Abdelmadjid Tebboune who is seeking a second term as an independent candidate with broad support, Abdelaali Hassani Cherif, 57, head of the Movement of Society for Peace, and Youcef Aouchiche, 41, secretary general of the left-wing Socialist Forces Front.
Voting began early on Saturday, with polling stations nationwide opening at 08:00 local time (0700 GMT). Mobile polling stations had been in operation since Wednesday to access remote areas, while overseas voting commenced on Monday, catering to over 800,000 Algerians living abroad.
The National Independent Authority for Elections oversaw the voting process.
President Tebboune exercised his right to vote on Saturday at Ahmed Bouraoui School in Bouchaoui (Algiers).
The other two candidates also participated in the election, voting at schools in their respective constituencies on Saturday.
The election comes after Tebboune's decision on March 21 to reschedule the presidential polls, traditionally held in December, for an earlier time for "purely technical reasons."
According to the Algerian electoral law, the candidate who receives more than half of the votes is elected as the new president. If no one crosses the mark, the top two candidates will compete in a runoff within 30 days.
Vote counting underway in Algeria's presidential election
Cities in China's Yangtze River Delta region have triggered emergency responses, including cancellation of trains and flights, road closures, and the relocation of affected civilians, after Typhoon Bebinca made landfall in Shanghai on Monday, causing extensive disruption as it moves northwestward.
Bebinca, the 13th typhoon of the year, made landfall in the Pudong District of Shanghai around 07:30 on Monday morning.
At the time of landfall, the maximum wind speed near the eye of the storm was about 42 meters per second, making it the strongest typhoon to land in Shanghai in decades.
In preparation for the storm, the city had relocated over 410,000 residents, canceled 577 trains and 1,461 flights.
On Monday afternoon, the first flights landed at Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai since the two airports announced on Sunday evening that all flights were cancelled because of Bebinca.
In nearby Jiangsu Province, cities including Nantong and Suzhou have been lashed by gales and strong rainfall. Expressways in parts of Suzhou, Nantong, Wuxi and Changzhou cities were closed while reduced speed limits, toll booth closures and the closures of bridges across the the Yangtze River were also put into effect.
Over 21,000 vessels have returned to ports in Jiangsu, while more than 7,700 construction sites and 315 scenic spots in the province have also been closed.
In Zhejiang Province's eastern coastal city of Zhoushan, local authorities relocated over 44,000 residents living in the danger-prone regions.
At 15:00 on Monday, China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters lowered the emergency response for Shanghai and Zhejiang from the previous Level III to Level IV, while the emergency response status for Jiangsu and east China's Anhui Province has been maintained at Level IV.
China's National Meteorological Center said that Bebinca will bring more heavy or torrential rain to Shanghai, northern Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan in the next three days.
Emergency responses triggered across eastern China in face of Typhoon Bebinca
