(28 Nov 1996) French/Nat
Algerians began voting Thursday in a controversial referendum on a draft constitution to ban political parties based on religion.
It is the latest bid to stop Islamic fundamentalists from taking power.
Algerian President Liamine Zeroual was one of the first to vote in the capital Thursday morning.
Algerians were turning out in large numbers Thursday to vote in a controversial referendum on changing the constitution.
The referendum is part of a government plan to wipe out Islamic fundamentalism, a problem they have long been plagued with.
Stringent security measures had been put in place for the occasion.
Police and paramilitary forces were seen patrolling Algiers streets.
And tens of thousands of security forces were posted at the numerous voting centres to guard against attacks.
Algerian President Liamine Zeroual was one of the first to go and cast his ballot.
He voted at one of the many schools converted into voting centres in the district of El Mourida in the capital.
And as he left, one of his supporters was right behind him.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"I am in favour of the police. Vive Zeroual, vive the police and the Gendarmerie."
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop
Around the capital Algerians have been flocking to cast their ballot.
Men and women made their way to the makeshift polling stations - the queues fulfilling government hopes of a high turnout.
Algeria has a history of violent Muslim militancy and it seems citizens now want some peace and security.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
" I am an Algerian citizen. It's normal for me to vote, as long as everything gets settled and things sort out for us, for all Algerians. We want peace and security. That's all we ask for."
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop
The Armed Islamic Group or G-I-A, the most feared of the country's Muslim guerrilla movements -- has warned people not to vote.
They are threatening to slit the throats of anyone who leaves home on referendum day.
But so far there have been no reports of violence.
Most people, from the young to the old, have ignored their threats and voted.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"But the commitment of the people is there. We see people arrive, of all generations, from the old to the youngest at 18."
SUPER CAPTION: Voxpop
If the majority votes "yes" in this referendum it could give authorities a new tool in their battle against Islamic extremists.
The draft charter would bar Muslim fundamentalists -- whose impending victory at the polls led the authorities to scrap a general election in 1992 from seeking power through the political system.
The referendum to revise the 1989 constitution comes amid a new wave of violence in a nearly five-year Islamic insurgency that has killed more than 60-thousand people - including 250 over the past seven weeks.
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