Interior ministry claims high turnout of 74 percent

Algerians have voted in a presidential election that is expected to confirm Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the incumbent president, in office.Turnout for Thursday's elections was greater than expected, suggesting many had spurned calls by some of Bouteflika's opponents to boycott the vote.Bouteflika's ability to retain the support of Algeria's people matters to the outside world as the country has the world's 15th-biggest oil reserves and accounts for 20 per cent of the EU's gas imports.Hours before polling closed, Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni, Algeria's interior minister, said that 48.89 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots."These are extraordinary figures," said Zerhouni, whose ministry is scheduled to announce the final results on Friday.Traditional opposition groups had warned the vote would be rigged and called on voters to stay away.Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, a local offshoot of al-Qaeda, has also called for a boycott.