Media Watchdog Slams Algeria Visa Delays to Cover Polls
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has criticized Algerian authorities over delays in issuing visas for foreign journalists to cover the country's presidential election on Thursday.
Many journalists were "issued visas late in the day accompanied by drastic restrictions", the Paris-based group said in a statement issued on the eve of polling.
"Visas are usually issued in two weeks but have been taking much longer in the run-up to the elections."
Several journalists were still waiting for a response on Wednesday to visa applications, including AFP correspondent Simon Martelli although two of his colleagues were granted visas and traveled to Algiers.
Martelli put in his visa application on February 28 at the Algerian embassy in Rabat, where he is posted.
Algeria's ailing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is expected to win a fourth term against five other candidates in the election, while his main rival, Ali Benflis, has warned of fraud.
More than 260,000 police have deployed across the country to guarantee security in the 50,000 polling booths set up to accommodate the 23 million Algerians eligible to vote.
RSF said foreign journalists who obtained visas "will be able to cover voting day itself but, in practice, they have been prevented from doing any investigative reporting ahead of what is a crucial election for Algeria, one marked by protests about Bouteflika’s candidacy and questions about his health problems".
The visas issued are "subject to geographic, editorial and time restrictions. Foreign reporters must obtain special permits to visit certain regions," it said.
"The documents they get from the information ministry instruct them to limit their questions to matters relating to the election."
Source: Agence France Presse
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