Algerian president’s win reinforces the status quo

Significance

His victory, which was widely expected within Algeria and abroad, represents the final defeat of the Hirak protest movement's call for structural change. Tebboune's first term was a lightly reformist version of the underlying status quo, which involves insiders and the security forces exercising a tight grip on power.

Impacts

• Unrest in the south due to economic marginalisation and environmental concerns will be a distinct possibility in Tebboune's second term.
• Lavish social spending could be sustained during Tebboune's second term.
• Economic diversification away from hydrocarbons will be gradual.