ALGERIA: Algerians express a mixture of apathy and skepticism as they prepare to choose a new parliament

Record ID: 573925

  • Title: ALGERIA: Algerians express a mixture of apathy and skepticism as they prepare to choose a new parliament
  • Date: 16th May 2007
  • Summary: CARS DRIVING DOWN MAIN STREET IN DOWNTOWN ALGIERS
  • Embargoed: 31st May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Algeria
  • Country: Algeria
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA8MN12EYRKRCIL6XPJED2FIS8M
  • Story Text: Algerians are expressing a mixture of apathy and skepticism as they prepare to choose a new parliament on Thursday
    Algerians worried by fresh political violence are set to choose a new parliament on Thursday (May 17), but there appears to be widespread public skepticism that taking part in the vote will help heal the country's numerous problems.
    Two days before the vote, there was scant enthusiasm for the elections amongst ordinary Algerians in the country's capital, Algiers, and little faith that a new Parliament, set to be dominated by the ruling National Liberation Front Party (FLN) can do anything to help stabilize the troubled country or bring much-needed jobs.
    From the congested capital Algiers to the Saharan oil and gas towns of Adrar and Hassi Messaoud, up to 18 million voters will choose among 12,229 candidates from 24 political parties and independents to steer the assembly for the next five years.
    The presidency is the most powerful political institution in Algeria, which is a supplier of oil and gas to north America and Europe, and Algerians tend to believe the assembly exists to rubber stamp the President's decisions.
    The polls to choose the 389 members of the lower house of parliament are the third since an Islamist revolt erupted after the cancellation of a general election in January, 1992, which a now-outlawed Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win.
    Up to 200,000 people have been killed in political bloodshed since then, and while the violence has dropped sharply in recent years recent bombings by Islamist armed groups has threatened the country's attempts to rebuild.
    A triple suicide bombing claimed by al Qaeda killed 33 in Algiers on April 11, raising fears of a return to 1990s-style violence.
    But social problems are still Algerians' main concern.
    Opponents accuse a secretive political establishment of squandering large oil and gas export revenues while unemployment among adults under 30 is at a worrying 75 percent and few employed people earn more than 25,000 dinars ($352) a month.
    Salim Dekhinissa said there was no point in voting as there was no prospect of real change.
    "Even if the people want to change things, nothing will change. The only thing that can cause change here is by God's grace," he said.
    Suleiman, who said he will vote for the opposition, is a little more optimistic, expressing hope that an opposition victory will lead to the a re-distribution of power.
    "We want people to be able to share power in order to change the situation, and to solve the numerous problems Algerians have," he said.
    However, no major opposition parties are contesting the ballot on Thursday or threatening the grip on power of the ruling FLN party.
    The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), the group that was set to win the canceled elections in 1992 that sparked a bloody civil conflict is banned and the most respected legal opposition party, the socialist Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), is boycotting the election.
    Another man said he would vote because it was his duty as an Algerian citizen, and that he hoped it would lead to change.
    "If there were interesting people then the situation will change for everybody," he said.
    While turnout is expected to be low on Thursday, up to 18 million voters will have the opportunity to choose among 12,229 candidates from 24 political parties and independents to steer the assembly for the next five years.
    The FLN is expected to keep its position as the largest single party, with the pro-government Rally for National Democracy (RND) likely to take second place.
    On Monday (May 14) , the FLN held its final election rally with Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem addressing thousands of supporters in Algiers.
    The FNL has 199 seats in the outgoing assembly and together with the RND and a moderate Islamist party they form a tripartite government coalition.
    Also present during Monday's rally was former Islamist militant leader Ahmed Benaicha, who has since taken advantage of a government sponsored amnesty for militants and is supporting the ruling party.
    Benaicha, who was a militant leader for the Islamic Salvation Army (IAS) in Western Algeria in the 1990s before the group negotiated peace with the authorities in 1997, urged his fellow Islamists to come out and vote.
    "We support these elections and call upon the sons of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) to vote in these elections for those who began the project of peace and national reconciliation," he said.
    The FFS, which is one of the oldest opposition parties, says they are boycotting the elections because they are unlikely to be transparent and parliament serves little purpose.
    The secular FFS, the main political force in the Berber-speaking Kabylie region, also boycotted the last legislative elections in 2002.
    Al Qaeda's North Africa wing, which claimed the April 11 bombings, called on Algerians to boycott the elections, which it condemned as a "farce", Al Jazeera television reported.
    Some observers expect the rebels to try to disrupt the polling.
    Belkhadem is a conservative who has attracted widespread support from moderate Islamists, and said on Monday that the government's strategy of reconciling with its opponents had ended the bloodshed of the past.
    "Algeria suffered from the catastrophe of the 1990s, and the National Liberation Front (FLN), from the first day, was saying to all Algerians that there is no solution except reconciliation, and there is no solution except dialogue, and there is no solution except solidarity," he said.
    Many political parties based their campaigns on praising President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has crushed most of the Islamic radical movements and attracted much-needed foreign investment.
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