Algeria courts disenchanted youth as 78-year-old president vies for second term

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — The young people who make up more than half of Algeria’s population are so disenchanted that they may not vote in next month’s presidential election. The gas-rich North African nation’s 78-year-old president is running for a second term, five years after street protests led to the ouster of the former president after 20 years. Abdelmadjid Tebboune has attempted to reach out to young people since announcing plans to run for reelection. Though little data exists on why people in Algeria abstain from voting, experts say the aging political elite — which still includes politicians who were involved in wresting independence from France more than 60 years ago — aren’t reaching young people.