- You are here:
- Home
- › Travel & living abroad
- › Travel advice by country
- › Country profiles
- › Middle East and North Africa
- › Algeria
Middle East and North Africa
Algeria |
|
|
Last reviewed: 17 July 2009 |
Country information
POLITICS
In the 1960s and 1970s, under President Houari Boumediene, Algeria pursued a programme of industrialisation within a state-controlled socialist economy. Boumediene’s successor, Chadli Bendjedid, introduced some liberal economic reforms and prosecuted a policy of Arabisation in Algerian society and public life. Teachers of Arabic, brought in from other Muslim countries, spread radical Islamic thought in schools and sowed the seeds of political Islamism. Economic recession caused by the crash in world oil prices and resulting social unrest in the 1980s forced Bendjedid to bring in a multi-party system at the end of the decade. Political parties developed, such as the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS), a broad coalition of Islamist groups. In December 1991 the FIS dominated the first of two rounds of legislative elections. Fearing the election of an Islamist Government, the authorities intervened on 11 January 1992, cancelling the elections. President Chadli Bendjedid resigned and a High Council of State was installed to act as Presidency. The FIS was subsequently banned, triggering a vicious civil insurgency between its armed wing, the Armée Islamique du Salut (AIS), and the armed forces in which over 100,000 are thought to have died. The AIS declared a ceasefire in October 1997.
Algeria held elections in 1999, which were won by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Bouteflika focused on restoring stability to the country following his election and announced a ‘Civil Concord’ initiative, approved by popular referendum, under which many political prisoners were pardoned, and several thousand members of armed groups were granted exemption from prosecution under a limited amnesty which was in force up to 13 January 2000. The AIS disbanded and levels of insurgent violence fell rapidly. The Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat (GSPC), a splinter group of the Group Islamic Armée, continued a terrorist campaign against the Government. Bouteflika was re-elected in April 2004 after campaigning on a programme of national reconciliation. The programme comprised economic, institutional, political and social reform to modernise the country, raise living standards and tackle the causes of alienation. It also included a second amnesty initiative, the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which was approved in a referendum in September 2005 and offers an amnesty to most guerrillas and Government security forces.
In November 2008 the Algerian constitution was amended following a vote in parliament, which removed the two-term limit on Presidential incumbents. This change enabled President Bouteflika to stand for re-election in the 2009 Presidential elections. Following the election on 9 April 2009 President Bouteflika was re-elected. During his election campaign and following his re-election President Bouteflika promised to extend the programme of national reconciliation and a $150 billion spending programme to create three million new jobs, the construction of one million new housing units and to continue public sector and infrastructure modernisation programmes.
Elections
The President is elected by a popular vote for a five-year term. The last presidential election was held on 9 April 2009. Abdelaziz Bouteflika was re-elected for a second term with 85% of the vote. Turnout was around 75%. Five other candidates stood, including a female candidate.
Legislative elections were last held on 17 May 2007. Turnout was believed to be 35.65%. The ruling coalition won 249 of the 389 seats in the lower house (APN). The majority party FLN won 139, RND 61 and MSP 52. Consequently, FLN have 63 fewer seats in the new parliament, and RND and MSP 14 more each. The former head of Government, Abdelaziz Belkhadem proposed changes to the constitution which would allow President Bouteflika to run for a third term in office when his present mandate expires in 2009. The proposed change was put to Parliament on 12 November and won overwhelming approval.
Municipal elections were last held on 29 November 2007. These two elections were to elect candidates to the Wilaya (state) level Assembly, the 'Assemblee Popular de Wilaya' (APW), and the commune (county) level Assembly, the 'Assemblee Popular Comunale' (APC).
Taken as average across both elections, and according to official figures, the ‘Front de Liberation Nationale’ (FLN) retained the largest number of seats of any one party, winning approximately 31% of the vote. The ‘Rassemblement National Democratique’ (RND) came second with around 23%, a gain on the FLN since 2002.
The Movement Pour la Societe de la Paix (MSP) and the ‘Front Nationale Algerien’ (FNA) came a close third and fourth. Between them the FLN, the RND and the MSP make up the ruling Presidential coalition.
The ‘Front des Forces Socialistes’ (FFS), one of the Kabylie-based parties to stand, won around 3.5% of votes. The Official level of voter turnout was put at just under 44%, which was slightly down on the 50% recorded in 2002. In 2002 the FLN won around 34.6% of the vote, the RND 17.5% and the two main Islamic parties polled 22.7% between them. The FFS got 2.7% overall.
HUMAN RIGHTS
As well as violence committed by armed Islamist groups during the 1990s, there are numerous documented allegations of human rights abuses by the Algerian security forces and state-armed militia. These included enforced disappearances, torture and extra-judicial killings. The UK Government continues to urge the Algerian Government to comply fully with all its obligations under international human rights law, including the investigation of human rights violations. The UK with EU partners has also raised a number of cases with the Algerian authorities. However, the Algerian Government has recently taken steps to strengthen the rule of law, e.g. the criminalisation of torture, human rights training for police officers and improving standards in prisons. A de facto moratorium on the death penalty has been in place since 1993.
Algeria recently participated in the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review. The UK welcomed the contribution of the Government of Algeria to this review and noted progress made in respect of the criminalisation of torture, human rights training for police officers and improving standards in prisons. We also welcome the continued moratorium on the death penalty.
On 10 June 2008 the Human Rights Council formally adopted its report on Algeria. Some 45 countries took part in the review, making a total of 20 recommendations. Algeria accepted 17 recommendations ranging from strengthening gender mainstreaming to adopting further measures on violence against children. Algeria accepted the UK recommendations, including on co-operation with special rapporteurs. Algeria did not accept 3 recommendations. These included the Belgian recommendation to suspend the 2006 Presidential decree on freedom of religion.
