ALGIERS- Independent candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune won the presidential election of December 12 with nearly five million votes cast, equaling 58.15%, according to preliminary results released Friday by the Independent National Authority of Elections (ANIE).

Candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune obtained a total of 4,945,116 of the votes cast, President of the ANIE, Mohamed Charfi told a press conference as he gave the preliminary results of the presidential elections.

The overall turnout rate reached 39.83%. Tebboune is followed by the candidate of the El Bina movement party Abdelkader Bengrina, with 1,477,735 of votes cast, i.e. 17.38%, candidate of the Talaie El Houriyate party Ali Benflis, with 896,934 of votes, for a rate of 10.55%. The candidate for the National Democratic Rally (RND) party Azzedine Mihoubi, won a rate of 7.26%, which represents 617,753 of votes, while the El Moustakbel Front party candidate, Abdelaziz Belaid obtained 566.808 votes, which represents a rate of 6.66%.

Charfi said that after the close of the polling stations, the count operation revealed 8,504,346 votes cast, 1,243,458 spoiled ballots and 11,588 disputed votes.