Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has won a landslide re-election, according to official results released today.
Mr Bouteflika, who said he needed a second mandate until 2009 to firmly anchor the Muslim country to democracy and a market economy after a brutal Islamic holy war, won 83.49 per cent of the votes cast, Interior Minister Noureddine Zerhouni said.
His main challenger, former Prime Minister Ali Benflis, took 7.93 per cent of the votes. The other four candidates trailed further behind. Turnout was 57.8 per cent, a high figure for Algeria where the abstention rate is traditionally strong.
Yesterday's presidential election, which the opposition said was marred by fraud, was seen as pivotal for the future of the North African country after years of military-backed or one-party rule since independence from France in 1962.