Politics of Algeria

Algeria

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Politics and government of
Algeria



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Politics of Algeria takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Algeria is head of state while the Prime Minister of Algeria is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the People's National Assembly and the Council of the Nation. Algeria has a long history of revolution and regime change, making the political climate dynamic and often in a state of change. The country is currently a constitutional republic with a democratically elected government, though the military, in practice, remain major powerbrokers. Since the early 1990s, a shift from a state capitalist to a free market economy has been ongoing with official support.

Contents

History

The civil war resulted in more than 100,000 deaths since 1991. Although the security situation in the country has greatly improved, addressing the underlying issues which brought about the political turmoil of the 1990s remains the government's major task. The government officially lifted the state of emergency declared in 1992 on February 22, 2011.[1]

Constitution

Under the 1976 Constitution (as modified 1979, and amended in 1988, 1989, and 1996) Algeria is a multi-party state. All parties must be approved by the Ministry of the Interior. To date, Algeria has had more than 40 legal political parties. According to the Constitution, no political association may be formed if it is "based on differences in religion, language, race, gender, or region."

Executive branch

The head of state is the President of the republic, who is elected to a 5-year term, renewable once (changed by the 2008 Constitution to an infinite mandate). Algeria has universal suffrage. The President is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the Prime Minister who also is the head of government. The Prime Minister appoints the Council of Ministers.

Main office holders
Office Name Party Since
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika FLN 27 April 1999
Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia RND 23 June 2008

Political parties and elections

In keeping with its amended Constitution, the Algerian Government espouses participatory democracy and free-market competition. The government has stated that it will continue to open the political process and encourage the creation of political institutions. More than 40 political parties, representing a wide segment of the population, are currently active in Algerian national politics. The most recent legislative election was 2007. President Bouteflika has pledged to restructure the state as part of his overall reform efforts. However, no specifics are yet available as to how such reforms would affect political structures and the political process itself.

In the 2002 elections, there were 17,951,127 eligible voters, and 8,288,536 of them actually voted which made a turn out of 46.17%. Out of the ballots cast, there were 867,669 void ballots according to the Interior ministry and 7,420,867 which went to the various candidates.

The most recent legislative election now is the 2007 one. Turnout was quite low with only 35.61% of the nation's 18,760,400 eligible voters making it to the polls which. Out of those, 961,751 ballots were considered void, so only 5,726,087 ballots have been cast in favour of the various candidates (85.62% of the ballots cast were considered valid).

e • d Summary of the 17 May 2007 People's National Assembly of Algeria election results
Parties President Votes % Seats +/–
National Liberation Front (Jabhat at-Taḥrīr al-Waṭaniyy / Front de Libération National) Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Belkhadem
Khalida Toumi
1,315,686 22.98 136 –63
National Rally for Democracy (at-Tajammu` al-Waṭaniyy ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyy / Rassemblement National Démocratique) Ahmed Ouyahia 591,310 10.33 61 +14
Independents 562,986 9.83 33 +3
Movement of Society for Peace (Ḥarakat Mujtama` as-Silm / Mouvement de la Societé pour la Paix) Bouguerra Soltani 552,104 9.64 52 +14
Workers' Party (Ḥizb al-`Ummāl / Parti des Travailleurs) Louisa Hanoune 291,312 5.08 26 +5
Algerian National Front (al-Jabhah al-Waṭaniyyah al-Jazā'iriyyah / Front National Algérien) Farida Haddouche 239,563 4.18 13 +5
Islamic Renaissance Movement (Ḥarakat an-Nahḍah / Mouvement de la Renaissance Islamique) ????? 194,067 3.39 5 +4
Rally for Culture and Democracy(at-Tajammu` min 'ajl aṯ-Ṯaqāfah wad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah / Rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie) Saïd Sadi 192,490 3.36 19 +19
Movement for National Reform (Mouvement Islah) Abdallah Djaballah 144,880 2.53 3 –40
El-Infitah Movement (Mouvement El Infitah) Naima Farhi 143,936 2.51 3 +3
Movement for Youth and Democracy (Mouvement pour la Jeunesse et la Démocratie) ????? 132,268 2.31 5 +5
Ahd 54 Ali Fawzi Rebaine 129,300 2.26 2 +2
National Republican Alliance (Alliance Nationale Républicaine) Redha Malek 126,444 2.21 4 +4
Movement of National Understanding (Ḥarakat al-Wifāq al-Waṭaniyy / Mouvement de l'Entente Nationale) ????? 122,501 2.14 4 +3
National Party for Solidarity and Development (Parti National pour la Solidarité et le Developpement) Dalila Yalaqui 119,353 2.08 2 +2
National Movement for Nature and Democracy (Mouvement National pour la Nature et la Démocratie) ????? 114,767 2.00 7 +7
National Front of Independents for Understanding (Front National des Indépendants pour la Conc....C) ????? 112,321 1.96 3 +3
Party of Algerian Renewal (Ḥizb at-Tajdīd al-Jazā'iriyy / Parti du Rénouveau Algérien) ????? 103,328 1.80 4 +3
Algerian Rally (Rassemblement Algérien) ????? 100,079 1.75 1 +1
National Movement of Hope (Mouvement National d'Esperance) ????? 99,179 1.73 2 +2
Republican Patriotic Rally (Rassemblement Patriotique Républicain) ????? 84,348 1.47 2 +2
Progressive Republican Party (Parti Républicain Progressiste) ????? 81,046 1.42 0 ±0
National Democratic Front (Front National Démocratique) ????? 78,865 1.38 1 +1
Democratic and Social Movement (Mouvement Démocratique et Social) El Hachemi Chérif 51,219 0.89 1 +1
Socialist Workers' Party (Parti Socialiste des Travailleurs) ????? 42,735 0.75 0 ±0
Total (turnout 35.65%) 5,726,087 100.0 389
Algerian Interior Ministry
e • d Summary of the 8 April 2004 Algerian presidential election results
Candidates - Nominating parties votes %
Abdelaziz Bouteflika - National Rally for Democracy 8,651,723 85.0
Ali Benflis - National Liberation Front 653,951 6.4
Abdallah Djaballah - Movement for National Reform 511,526 5.0
Said Sadi - Rally for Culture and Democracy 197,111 1.9
Louisa Hanoune - Workers' Party 101,630 1.0
Ali Fawzi Rebaine - Ahd 54 63,761 0.6
Total (turnout 58.1 %) 10,179,702  
e • d Summary of the 30 May 2002 Algerian People's National Assembly election results
Parties Votes % of Votes Seats
National Liberation Front (Jabhat at-Taḥrīr al-Waṭaniyy / Front de Libération National) 2.618.003 34.3 199
Movement for National Reform (Ḥarakat al-Iṣlāḥ al-Waṭaniyy / Mouvement du Renouveau National) 705.319 9.5 43
National Rally for Democracy (at-Tajammu` al-Waṭaniyy ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyy / Rassemblement National Démocratique) 610.461 8.2 47
Movement for the Society of Peace (Ḥarakat Mujtama` as-Silm / Mouvement de la Société pour la Paix) 523.464 7.0 38
Workers' Party (Ḥizb al-`Ummāl / Parti des Travailleurs) 245.770 3.3 21
Algerian National Front (al-Jabhah al-Waṭaniyyah al-Jazā'iriyyah / Front National Algérien) 113.700 1.6 8
Islamic Renaissance Movement (Ḥarakat an-Nahḍah / Mouvement de la Renaissance Islamique) 48.132 0.6 1
Party of Algerian Renewal (Ḥizb at-Tajdīd al-Jazā'iriyy / Parti du Renouveau Algérien) 19.873 0.3 1
Movement of National Understanding (Ḥarakat al-Wifāq al-Waṭaniyy / Mouvement de l'Entente Nationale) 14.465 0.2 1
Non-partisans 365.594 4.9 30
Front of Socialist Forces (Jabhat al-Quwā al-Ištirākiyyah / Front des Forces Socialistes)

Rally for Culture and Democracy (at-Tajammu` min 'ajl aṯ-Ṯaqāfah wad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah / Rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie)
Movement for Democracy in Algeria (al-Ḥarakah min 'ajl ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah fī al-Jazā'ir / Mouvement pour la démocratie en Algérie)

boycott
Total (turnout 46.2%)     389

Administrative divisions

Algeria is divided into 48 wilaya (province) headed by walis (governors) who report to the Minister of Interior. Each wilaya is further divided into daïras, themselves divided in communes. The wilayas and communes are each governed by an elected assembly.

Media

Algeria has more than 30 daily newspapers published in French and Arabic, with a total publication run of more than 1.5 million copies. Although relatively free to write as they choose, in 2001, the government amended the penal code provisions relating to defamation and slander, a step widely viewed as an effort to rein in the press. Government monopoly of newsprint and advertising is seen as another means to influence the press, although it has permitted newspapers to create their own printing distribution networks..

See also List of Algerian newspapers.

Future Concerns

Population growth and associated problems--unemployment and underemployment, inability of social services to keep pace with rapid urban migration, inadequate industrial management and productivity, a decaying infrastructure--continue to plague Algerian society. Increases in the production and prices of oil and gas over the past decade have led to a budgetary surplus of close to $20 billion. The government began an economic reform program in 1993 which focuses on macroeconomic stability and structural reform. These reforms are aimed at liberalizing the economy, making Algeria competitive in the global market, and meeting the needs of the Algerian people.

International organization participation

AU, ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (applicant)

See also

References

  1. ^ Chikhi, Lamine (2011-01-21). "Algeria army should quit politics: opposition". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2011-01-21. http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE70K02X20110121?sp=true. Retrieved 2011-01-22. 

External links