Acts of protests in Algeria over formation of electoral committee

Acts of violence erupted in Jejil province to the east of Algiers during which the demonstrators on Saturday and Sunday stole public buildings's contents in protest of organizing ballot centers for the presidential elections due on April 8th, 2004.

Press sources said that the demonstrators stole the content of the headquarters of al-Sattara division and municipality to the east of Jejil and set fire at the headquarters of "Martyrs children" and the house of the municipality chairman.

The sources added that the protesters, mostly unemployed youths, were angry over the way the administration appointed persons assigned to supervise the voting centers during these elections.

The demonstrators who called for the evacuation of the chairman of the division said that the administration ruled out the unemployed youths from working in the list of supervisors of the voting centers.

On February 22nd, acts of unrest erupted in Warqala to the east of the capital prior to the visit of President Abdul Aziz Butaflika, and scores of youths stole the findings of public buildings in protest of the spread of unemployment.