Casablanca - Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, has created another controversy after calling on women to beat their husbands with sticks if they refuse to vote in Thursday’s legislative elections.

Casablanca – Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, has created another controversy after calling on women to beat their husbands with sticks if they refuse to vote in Thursday’s legislative elections.

Sellal’s statement came during a women’s gathering last Saturday in the city of Setif, in the east of Algeria. The Algerian official told the women “In fact I came here to see your faces and hear your cries[…] Why is your role so important? Because behind every man is a woman…”

Sellal added that “the men of Setif are men, and their women are also men.” This sparked laughter within the room.

Later, Sellal urged the women to vote in Thursday’s legislative elections.

“I urge you to be strong on the day of the elections. It is necessary that you participate and call on your husbands to do so and wake them up in the early morning. Don’t bring them coffee, just send them off to vote,” said Sellal before adding “whoever does not vote, beat him with a stick.”

Algerian social media users have shared the statement on Facebook, many dismissing it as pre-election fever, especially in light of a strong anti-voting campaign that has swept through social media. Others mocked the Algerian Prime Minister who is known for his highly controversial declarations.