Algerian voters shun referendum aimed at ending political crisis

FILE PHOTO: A demonstrator stands on a street pole as he carries a national flag during a protest to push for the removal of the current political structure, in Algiers, Algeria April 5, 2019. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Fewer than one in four Algerian voters took part in Sunday's constitutional referendum, officials said, despite government efforts to encourage high turnout as part of a strategy to turn the page on last year's political unrest.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the powerful military had presented the new constitution as a sign that they had addressed the causes of public anger that prompted mass weekly protests for more than a year.