Bomb explodes as Algerians go to polls

Millions of Algerians, weary of bloodshed, turned out yesterday to vote in their first parliamentary election in more than five years of violence - blamed by officials on Muslim fundamentalists.

Many said they were seeking peace through the ballot box. Even as they voted, an Islam-oriented party contesting the poll said a bomb had seriously wounded two local election observers in a car near Djelfa in central Algiers. Voting started slowly but by mid-afternoon, according to the Interior Ministry, 41.78 per cent, or nearly 7 million of the 16.8 million electorate, had cast their ballots. Reuters - Algiers