Algeria reaches out to expatriate community

2009-03-13

Algerian authorities intensify their outreach efforts among Algerians living abroad, ahead of the April 9th presidential elections. "[We] remain deeply attached to Algeria by an umbilical cord which has never been broken," said one Algerian living in France.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 13/03/09

[Getty Images] Algeria prepares for the presidential elections by reaching out to its nationals abroad.

Polling has intensified in recent days of Algerians living abroad, seeking input from expatriates, particularly in France, in the run up to the April 9th presidential elections.

In other countries where the Algerian community is less concentrated, there has been an attempt to mark the event, even if only for symbolic involvement.

More than two million Algerian citizens live abroad, with half of this number in France alone. This segment of the population, which generally votes before the population back home, is often an indicator of voter turnout rates in Algeria.

Particular efforts are being concentrated on France, specifically in the major conurbations where many Algerians live. In Paris, Consul General Meziane Cherif Abderrahmane decided to make polling stations readily available to the community; a strategy his department has successfully implemented since 2005.

"This process consists of sending a mobile polling station into departments in the Paris area – eight in all. Apart from making it easier to provide prompt service to members of the community, it has the advantage of bringing Algerian expatriates and their administration closer together, maintaining this link which will help them to contribute to the political life of their country."

The Consul reported that the annual renewal of the electoral roll in 2008 recorded 750,000 Algerians of voting age.

Five cities will host polling stations on April 4th, 5th, and 6th: Nantes, Rennes, Lorient, Le Mans and Poitiers. On April 7th-9th, only the polling station in Nantes will be open.

Abderrahmane said "innumerable activities" had been undertaken in partnership with associations since early February, including community outreach, direct mail, poster campaigns, local press, and the provision of buses to take voters to the polls.

In a statement to the Algerian press agency, President of the Great Mosque Federation in Paris and Rector of the Bilal Mosque Bendidi Abdelkader stressed that "young Algerians are more and more interested in their home country and want to be closer to Algeria."

Abdelkader believes many will turn out to vote.

"The composition of our community has changed, particularly with a new wave of emigration in the [1990s]. It is basically made up of young white collar workers," explained Ghalia Feddal, who works for an association. "This requires the Algerian authorities to think long and hard about the ways to make the most of the brainpower which fled death."

For Professor Mohand Tazrout, who settled in Nantes, "Our status as expatriates means that we remain deeply attached to Algeria by an umbilical cord which has never been broken."

The chair of the network of Algerian graduates from the Grandes Écoles in France (REAGE), Fateh Ouazen, called last Tuesday in Paris for the active involvement of the Algerian diaspora in re-launching the national economy.

"As an elite settled abroad, and particularly in France, we are calling for a massive turn-out for the presidential election, regardless of individual choice, because voting is the primary duty of citizenship and a sign of personal attachment to Algeria for all Algerians who are abroad," stressed Ouazen.

He hoped that the candidate who emerges as the winner on April 9th would call on the many bodies established abroad to play an active part in the country's development.

"There are thousands of white-collar workers, including major researchers, doctors, business leaders (...), waiting for a clear signal from the authorities to allow them to join those who are driving development," he explained.

"The Algerian community living in France cannot remain indifferent given the considerable importance of this event to the life of the nation," said Algerian Ambassador to France Missoum Sbih.