Algerian election results: narrow win for FLN and improved voter turnout
2007-11-30
The FLN maintained its dominance in Algeria's local assemblies, earning 30% of seats in the November 29th elections. Most parties declared the elections fair, despite minor breaches in polling stations across the country.
By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 30/11/07
 [Getty Images] The FLN secured a narrow victory in Thursday's local elections. |
Results announced this morning in Algeria’s local and regional elections called a narrow victory for the National Liberation Front. With 30% of the seats in local assemblies, the FLN remains the country’s leading political force after the Thursday (November 29th) double election.
In spite of bad weather which hit the north of the country on the day of the poll, the reported 44.09% voter turnout is a marked increase over the 36.6% that participated in the May 17th legislative elections.
The National Democratic Rally (RND) came back strongly in the elections, earning 24.5% of seats. The Algerian National Front (FNA) continued its rise up the political ladder, finishing third with 11.29%.
El Islah, which had come third in the 2002 local and regional elections, slipped down to 9th, winning only 1.48% of the seats being contested. The other Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), won 10.69% of seats, followed by the Workers’ Party (PT) which was making its local election debut and won a 6.85% share. The Rally for Culture and Democracy took 4.35% of the seats, the Socialist Forces Front (4.05%), independents (3.88%) and the Ennahda movement (1.57%).
Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said the relatively high turnout, despite the bad weather hitting the north of the country, was the result of citizens' interest in the local elections, which he said directly concern them.
Zerhouni added that security provisions were adequate and that the elections took place in an atmosphere of calm, although "unfortunately, some breaches were observed in a small number of polling stations without having an impact on the election results."
Several parties expressed satisfaction with election conditions. FLN communications chief Said Bouhadja highlighted the smooth execution of the polling across the country, especially inland where there was a "significant level" of turnout. Nevertheless, Bouhadja did mention "irregularities committed by certain agents of the authorities", who he said had acted "in accordance with their political affiliations".
MSP chairman Bouguerra Soltani reported 150 cases of irregularities across the country, but he described them as "minimal" and said they had "no effect on the smooth running of the elections".
Workers' Party spokesman Djeloul Djoudi also mentioned irregularities, but stressed that his party had fully exercised its rights to observe the elections. He maintained they had generally proceeded in an acceptable manner.
FNA chairman Moussa Touati also praised the conduct of the elections, but said certain irregularities had required intervention by security forces to restore order.
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Abdelaziz Posted 2007-11-30
There is no reason to go looking: there is no democracy here. We only have the FLN and that will never change. The results will always be the same.
amine Posted 2007-11-30
The results of the local elections in Algeria are false. There was mass fraud with the complete approval of the parties that participated in the election. They hid the almost complete abstention. For example, the level of participation in Anaba was 17% at 7pm, but according to the testimony of several agents at the voting station, the ballot boxes were then crammed with blank ballots just to bring the level of participation up. Zerhouni tried to say that the weak participation in Annaba was due to the rain the city had in the morning, but it did not even start to rain until 9:15pm; November 29 was a beautiful day. The real surprise is that the final results showed that Annabis officially had nearly 50% participation. So where is Algeria going if the opposition has become an accomplice to the mafia we know as our government? Oh God, either help us or crush us!
salim Posted 2007-11-30
The elections held on Thursday did not have 42% participation. According to the people, it could not have been more than 18%. It is shocking to see what degree Algeria is really lacking democracy.
adel Posted 2007-12-01
An average level of abstention!? One would say that one of our daily State-employed mujaheddin journalists who wrote this article upon command. Your correspondent by the name of “N.F.”, a pseudonym I gather, does not understand the difference between our level of abstention and the average level. In other words, more than 11 million voters did not vote on November 29. What we can understand from this is that this website, Magharebia.com, is nothing but a name. You employ pseudo-correspondents either without any experience or by appointment from the government. This is completely unprofessional, when we all know that the approximate level of abstainers was 62.08%
صالح Posted 2007-12-01
Long live Algeria and the elections.
bounekhla kader Posted 2007-12-02
Long live MCO Oran, Sidi Maaroufe and Paris!
gasmi belgacem Posted 2007-12-02
The elections proceeded under the best conditions, according to all the observers- there was complete transparency and credibility. Long live democratic Algeria!
youcef Posted 2007-12-02
Nice results!
CHOUKI Posted 2007-12-02
Long live the FLN!
moh said Posted 2007-12-03
There is no such thing as democracy in Algeria, nor in the entire world! Democracy is the biggest lie humanity has ever known. One thing is certain: our authorities inflated the level of voter turnout!!! I have never voted and I will never vote so long as things remain the same. And, unfortunately, in my opinion, nothing is ever going to change… at least not is such a short period of time. Indeed, I would love to see Krim Belkacem or Larbi Ben M’hidi or Boussouf or whichever other martyr come back one day and take a glance at Algeria and see what they sacrificed everything for. The would see how unfortunate everything is.
akli Posted 2007-12-05
Fraud is permanent in Algeria. It is fortunate the martyrs are not here to see any of this.
gol Posted 2007-12-05
To Moh Said: To say that in Algeria there is no democracy does not surprise anyone. Nor, however, do you teach any of us anything by saying it. But, saying that it is the same everywhere in the world is nonsense. Otherwise, please explain to us why, even if it is just to live like sewer rats in Europe, Algerians are fleeing their country illegally. It is precisely because things are not the same in Algeria and elsewhere.
farid Posted 2007-12-05
Congratulations Amar for your election to the head of the community of Agouni, even if you did run on the RND platform. All the same, Bravo!
hamide Posted 2007-12-05
I am not defending the FLN: they have already lost some elections. They definitely have a lot of influence, but they are no longer the masters of the political arena. Moreover, with regards to the local elections, people did not vote for parties but for local people from the city, village, etc. Stop crying out “fraud” automatically. I know nothing is perfect, but I do think that this is an exaggeration (and negatively so.) Long live the MCO! Long live Espérance de Mostaganem! And, long live the FC BAR! (Ouillis)
mohameed Posted 2007-12-07
I think that the elections in Algeria as well as in other countries of the Third-World continue to be far from being credible transparent. Nevertheless, I think that in comparison with our past we have made several steps towards democracy. The problems of the Algerian people cannot be regulated by democracy alone, but by several structures linked to all of our lives. –Thank you
بلال Posted 2007-12-09
Yes the recent local elections were manipulated and divided between participating parties according to many criteria. The people are only concerned now with eating and not elections which bring no good, quite the opposite.
عبد القادر سيق Posted 2007-12-27
Yes the local elections of 2007 were fair, everyone expressed his convictions of the parties.
محمد الجزائري Posted 2007-12-31
Good news, the Algerian National Front is coming from far away. It is the party of the very Algerians who were treated unjustly, marginalized and who wasn’t heard in their country, it’s the party of justice, the party of prosperity, the party of wise policy; to sum up, it’s the party of beloved Algeria.
Nour-Eddine Posted 2008-01-06
A football team has fans as their twelfth teammate and the FLN has its administration (the Walou, the Walou delegate, and the general servants at the SG). Otherwise, how can we explain how the President was reelected in 2005 in spite of the negative results deriving from his prosecution for illegal forgery, signing of public contracts for huge amounts without legal tender to back it, the misappropriation of public funds and so on (the list is too long, but for more see El Watan newspaper)? Morality, that is how! Justice exists only for small people. Thank you, Mr. Belaiz
kada hocine Posted 2008-03-05
It is not necessary to look for democracy in Algeria because it doesn't exist. They used another expression, which is "the strong eats the weak".
مواطن باحث عن عقله Posted 2008-04-24
Democracy is a thought before it is a practice. Because of this political upbringing, we have an undemocratic mind. Whatever happens, the elections won’t lead to a true democracy. Who is electing whom, who is ruling whom, who is leading whom. I hope sirs that you answer me before any debate about elections and so on. Sirs, I am presenting you this list if you are living or want to live in Arab countries, give up your minds, become sheep and you will be happy. I warn you not to think otherwise you will be exiled.
dali Posted 2008-09-16
I would like the result from the 29 November 2007 local elections.
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