Can the Algerian government get voters to turn up for the 9 April presidential elections, Nabil Fawwaz asks from Algiers The turnout in Algerian elections hasn't been encouraging of late. In 2007's legislative elections, less than 40 per cent of eligible voters cared to participate. So with a month or less to go before presidential elections, the government is doing all it can to persuade voters to go to the polls. A low turnout could prove humiliating to the winner, who is known in advance. Announcing his intention to run for another term, President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika all but swore devotion to the young generations. He called them the mainstay of the nation, the hope for the future. And told them they have to participate in making the future of their country -- by showing up at the polls. Youth and Sports Minister Hachemi Djiar said the same thing. During a recent visit to the Jilfa region, Djiar expounded on the virtues of voting, telling the young that the country was theirs, the future theirs, if only they would vote. Former prime minister Abdel-Aziz Belkhadem went on a tour of his hometown and other areas of the largely conservative Jilfa region. There, he made a passionate plea to women. They were always at the vanguard of the revolution. They helped get the French out. Would they do the country one more favour? Belkhadem lamented the country's lack of women empowerment. He called on employers to hire more women. More women are needed in government offices, services, and industry, he told his audience. And the country needs their vote. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia recalled that some of the country's workers have not been paid their wages in full. Action was needed without delay. So Labour and Social Security Minister Tayeb Louh took action to pay back wages amounting to 1,700 billion Algerian dinars ($23 million) for 22,000 workers around the country. And, just as you pick up your pay check there is the small matter of... the elections coming up anytime now! The government has been adamant on ending the problem of illegal immigration to Europe. But recently its tone has softened up a little. Social Action and National Solidarity Minister Djamel Oueld Abbas says that the youths may have been boarding boats illegally, but their dreams were legitimate. They were deceived by criminal gangs; only those gangs deserve to be punished. The young men deserve better. And they will have better, if only, come the next elections, they remember to vote. The government is not worried about losing the next elections. The winner in the 9 April elections is known already. A boycott, however, can be damaging to the winner, so the government is going out of its way to mobilise voters. Want to monitor the elections? Be our guest, says Interior Minister Noureddin Zarhaouni. He recently told reporters that he has no objection to the European parliament sending observers to make sure that all was above board. In the 2007 elections, authorities claimed that low voter turnout was due to bad weather. This time the government is hoping for -- and aims to ensure -- a sunny day.
