Algeria's president joins opponents in claiming election irregularities after being named the winner

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — After being declared the winner of Algeria's election, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune joined his two challengers in criticizing the country's election authority for announcing results that contradicted earlier turnout figures and local tallies.

The claims of irregularities mar what had earlier appeared to be a landslide re-election for the 78-year-old head of state.

Algeria's National Independent Election Authority, or ANIE, on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94.7% of Saturday’s vote, far outpacing his challengers Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who received only 3.2% and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who got just 2.2%.

Hours later, Tebboune joined his opponents in questioning the reporting of results with the three campaigns jointly issuing a statement accusing the country's top election official of announcing contradictory results.

In a country where elections have historically been carefully choreographed affairs, such astonishing questions about irregularities shocked Algerians who expected Tebboune to win in a relatively uneventful fashion.

It’s unclear what will follow all three candidates casting doubt on irregularities and whether they will prompt legal challenges or delay the final certification of the result.

The tally reported on Sunday gave Tebboune a total vote share that was far more than the 87% that Vladimir Putin won in Russia’s March elections and the 92% that Ilham Aliyev got in Azerbaijan’s February contest.

But efforts from Tebboune and members of his government to encourage voter turnout to project legitimacy appeared to have fallen short, with less than one out of every four voters participating.

Election officials on Sunday reported 5.6 million of the country’s roughly 24 million voters had turned out to vote. Such high abstention rates, which remain unofficial, would surpass the 2019 presidential election when 39.9% of the electorate participated.

Officials did not explain why they had earlier announced 48% voter turnout at the time of polls closing. Before the three candidates joined in questioning the discrepancy, both of Tebboune’s challengers raised concerns about it, citing their own tallies.

Aouchiche called it “strange.” Ahmed Sadok, Cherif’s campaign manager, blasted delays and the way the figure was calculated.

“It’s a shame. It’s an attack on the image of Algeria, which will become the laughing stock of nations,” Sadok said earlier in the day.

He also said there had been a failure to deliver vote-sorting records to the candidates’ representatives and that said the party had recorded instances of proxy group voting and pressure put on poll workers to inflate certain figures.

The claims of irregularities cap off an election season that outraged activists and civil society groups. Human rights advocates railed against the campaign season’s repressive atmosphere and the harassment and prosecutions of those involved in opposition parties, media organizations and civil society groups.

Some denounced this election as a rubber stamp exercise that can only entrench the status quo. Amnesty International last week condemned Algeria’s “brutal crackdown on human rights including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in the run up to the country’s presidential elections.”

Before the candidates questioned the results, Tebboune’s supporters and detractors each had drawn conclusions from the results.

Pro-Tebboune university professor Abdellaoui Djazouli said on public television that the result was a resounding endorsement of Tebboune’s program.

“The president has more legitimacy to continue his action to better establish his project for the new Algeria,” he said on public television.

But his runaway victory fueled criticism from pro-democracy activists who have long seen elections as tools that the country’s political elites have used to give off an appearance of popular support.

Many said the loudest message to come out of the election came from those who chose to abstain out of fear that the election would only entrench and legitimize “le pouvoir” — a term used to describe the military-backed elites who run the country.

“The vast majority of the Algerian people have just given ‘le pouvoir’ a lesson in democracy,” said Nassira Amour, a teacher and leading figure from Algeria’s pro-democracy movement.

“The majority did not vote ... This electoral masquerade is a victory for the Hirak,” Amour added, referencing the pro-democracy movement that swept the country in 2019.

That year, after Hirak protestors flooded the streets of Algerian cities, the military ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades in power. The interim government that replaced him heeded calls from military leaders to hold elections later that year, angering protestors who saw expediting elections as a way to calm discontent and sidestep demands for civilian-led, non-military rule.

Tebboune, considered the military’s candidate, won his first-term in a widely boycotted election during which crowds sacked voting stations and police broke up demonstrations. Despite his early overtures and pledges to listen and usher in a “New Algeria,” Hirak protestors continued weekly demonstrations demanding deeper reforms.

Algeria is Africa’s largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it’s the continent’s second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 — a year in which more than 50 elections are being held worldwide, encompassing more than half the world’s population.

CORRECTS DATE - A voter prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Presidential candidate of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Abdelali Hassani Cherif, prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Presidential candidate of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Abdelali Hassani Cherif, prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Presidential candidate and leader of the FFS party, Youcef Aouchich, casts his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria. (AP Photo)

Election officials wait for voters inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

A voter prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

A voter prepares to cast her ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

A voter prepares to cast his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Ballots showing presidential candidates inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

A ballot showing Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune, inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Ballots showing the three presidential candidates are placed on a table inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

A voter prepares to cast her ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Election officials wait for voters inside a polling station during the presidential election, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

A voter poses for a photo with her inked finger after casting her ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)

Algerian president and candidate for re-election Abdelmajid Tebboune speaks after casting his ballot inside a polling station during the presidential elections, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo)

Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, has died. He was 70.

Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet, and was part of a music-making family whose songs have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll Jackson said in a statement posted on Instagram late Sunday.

The Jackson 5, among the last of the major groups launched through Berry Gordy's Motown empire, included teenage and pre-teen brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and lead singer Michael. Gordy signed them up in the late 1960s, when Motown's power was slipping and tastes were shifting from the slick pop-soul of Motown's prime to the funkier sounds of Sly and the Family Stone.

“I Want You Back,” the group's breakthrough hit, was openly modeled on Sly and the Family Stone and topped the charts in 1969. The Jacksons followed with three more No. 1 songs, "ABC," “The Love You Save" and “I’ll Be There," and also hit the top 5 with “Mama's Pearl” and “Never Can Say Goodbye."

Some called their music “bubblegum soul.”

By mid-decade, the Jackson 5's appeal was fading and the group, except Jermaine, moved to Epic and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their latter hits included “Enjoy Yourself,” “Lovely One” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)." Michael Jackson became a multi-platinum solo artist in the 1980s and his collaborations with his brothers became rare after the 1984 album “Victory."

The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, introduced at the ceremony by longtime friend Diana Ross.

Among reactions to the death was a message from the Broadway production “MJ," about Michael Jackson and his family. On X, the show called Tito Jackson “an icon of the music industry who has inspired generations of singers, musicians and performers across the world. None more so than our MJ family.” It included a photo of Tito Jackson attending the show.

Raised in Gary, Indiana, the Jackson 5 had been formed under the guidance of their father, Joe Jackson, a steelworker and guitar player. Michael and sibling La Toya would accuse him of abusive behavior. Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson was the least-heard member of the group, working as a background singer who played guitar.

Michael Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009. Speaking to The Associated Press in December 2009, Tito Jackson said that his younger brother's death pulled the family closer together.

“I would say definitely it brought us a step closer to each other. To recognize that the love we have for each other when one of us is not here, what a great loss,” he said, adding he would personally never “be at peace with it.”

“There’s still moments when I just can’t believe it. So I think that’s never going to go away,” he said.

In 2014, Jackson said that he and his brothers still felt Michael Jackson's absence in their shows, which continued with international tours.

“I don’t think we will ever get used to performing without him. He’s dearly missed," Jackson said, noting that his brother's spirit "is with us when we are performing. It gives us a lot of positive energy and puts a lot of smiles on our faces."

Days before his death, Jackson posted a message on his Facebook page from Germany on Sept. 11, where he visited a memorial to Michael Jackson with his brothers.

“Before our show in Munich, my brothers Jackie, Marlon, and I, visited the beautiful memorial dedicated to our beloved brother, Michael Jackson. We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive," Jackson wrote.

Jackson was the last of the nine siblings to release a solo project with his 2016 debut, “Tito Time.” He released a song in 2017, “One Way Street,” and told the AP in 2019 that he was working on a sophomore album.

Jackson said he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career because he wanted to focus on raising his three sons, who formed their own music group, 3T. Jackson's website offers a link to a single featuring 3T and Stevie Wonder titled, “Love One Another.”

Earlier this year, Jackson settled in a house in Claremore, Oklahoma near Tulsa, Tulsa World reported. “I always wanted to get away from the West Coast and experience living somewhere with new people and new culture,” the paper quoted Jackson as saying. “California is ... different.”

Jackson had ties to the area: His uncle, Samuel Jackson, had opened Jackson Undertaking Co. in Tulsa in 1917, and when it burned down during the Tulsa Race Massacr e in 1921, Samuel Jackson was hired by a white-owned funeral home to embalm the bodies of Black residents who were killed, the paper reported. He later rebuilt his own company.

Jackson also is survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie, his sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya, and their mother, Katherine. Their father died in 2018.

Jackson's death was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

FILE - Pop star Michael Jackson, center, his mother Katherine Jackson, right, and brother Tito Jackson, left, leave Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif., April 7, 2005, after another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

FILE - From left, brothers Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson pose for a portrait together in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Singer Tito Jackson arrives at the opening night of, "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," in Los Angeles, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)

FILE - The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, front right; Marlon Jackson, front left; Tito Jackson, back left; Jackie Jackson, back center; and Jermaine Jackson, back right; pose for this undated photo together in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Tito Jackson, a member of the famed Jackson 5, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, July 24, 2019, to promote his solo project, a new version of his 2017 song "One Way Street." (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)