The Hindu : Polls expose failure of Algerian establishment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 02, 2002

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International

Polls expose failure of Algerian establishment

By Kesava Menon

Manama (Bahrain) June 1. Algeria's powerful ruling establishment appears to have squandered the opportunities that had opened up after their success in turning the country's political situation around in the late 1990s.

A low turnout in parliamentary elections, the boycott of the polls by Opposition parties and the Berber minority and their escalating violence show that the Algerian establishment has not been able to provide any relief to a country that had been severely affected by a decade of horrendous civil war. Less than 50 per cent of eligible voters took part in last Thursday's parliamentary elections according to figures given out by the Interior Ministry.

The poor turnout was partly due to the boycott calls issued by the Opposition parties and the leaders of the Berber community. But the lack of better options, the lack of public confidence in Parliament's ability to deliver real benefits and dearth of hope in real progress also appears to have contributed to the public apathy towards the polls.

An indication of the dismal scenario Algerian voters confronted was given by the fact that the National Liberation Front (FLN), the party which had been completely discredited after 30 years in power since independence, has emerged as the largest party in Parliament with 199 of the 389 seats. The Prime Minister, Ali Benflis, who heads the FLN, is credited with having revitalised the party by bringing in younger representatives. This has helped the party climb from the 62 seats it held in the outgoing House. But, the boycott besides, this can hardly be termed as a turn-around in the party's fortunes because the only other force challenging the FLN was the even more discredited National Democratic Rally which was more or less a "king's party'' cobbled together after the election of the President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in1999.

The NRD's tally came down from 156 seats in the outgoing House to 48 in the new one. Four parties of some standing as well the Berbers of the Kabylie region boycotted the polls. The parties boycotted the poll in line with their long-standing argument that elections are meaningless when the basic power structure remained unchanged. What they mean is that behind the forms of democracy real power in Algerian is vested in the military-centred establishment and that unless the military and its allies in the bureaucracy can be brought under the control of elected representatives, no progress can be made.The Berbers have felt neglected by the Central authority and their protest movement has been gathering strength over the year. Mr. Bouteflika has granted the Berber language a status on power with Arabic but this has not been sufficient to satisfy their aspirations. With the secular political forces either discredited or cutting themselves off from the political processes, the Islamic groups may well rise again.

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