Introduction
Algeria, the second-largest country in Africa, is found in the northwest part of Africa. Though over 90% of its vast land area is covered by the Sahara, Algeria is still one of the wealthiest countries in Africa and this is in major part to major oil and natural gas deposits that lie underneath its sands. To its north lies the Mediterranean Sea behind which are the Atlas mountains which contain most of Algeria’s arable land finally giving way to the high plateau and the desert. It has a population of about 33.3 million people consisting mainly of Berbers and Arabs or a mix of the two.
Algeria is governed in 48 provinces further divided into municipal councils. It elects one president, who in turn chooses a prime minister who heads the government and appoints a council of ministers. The legislature is bicameral; a 144-member Council of the Nation forms the upper house and the members of the 389 National People’s Assembly form the lower house. All members serve six-year terms.
Main body
Algeria’s political history has been dominated by the Front de Libération Nationale or FLN which took power soon after the Algerian war of independence in November of 1954. Its only challenge at the time was the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN) which however faded away. Algeria developed into a republic under President Ahmed Ben Bella and in 1963 he outlawed all other political parties making Algeria a one-party state. It monopolized political parties from (1962 – 1991) under two more presidents, during which time it gradually lost its popularity. In October of 1988 riots occurred in which time FLN realized it had finally lost the legitimacy to the people of the nation. The President in power at the time, Chadli Bendjedid’s was finally forced to engage in constitutional reforms.
The 1989 constitution eliminated the FLN’s monopoly as a single party and led to the legalization of political parties. More than thirty political parties appeared as a result of the reforms and by the time the first local and regional multiparty elections took place in June 1990 and almost sixty were present at the first national multiparty elections in December of 1991. Among the many political parties vying for power were the governing FLN; the Islamist fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front or Front Islamique du Salut – (FIS), founded in 1989. Its backing came primarily from the Arab population, which constituted at least 70 percent of the whole Algerian Sunni Muslim population. Another pro-Berber party – the Rally for Culture and Democracy or Rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie – (RCD) whose primary supporters were the Berber Muslims, in addition to the ethnically mixed Arab-Berber population. Owing to their great achievements the parties were able to pressure the government to as for general parliamentary elections scheduled for 27 June 1991. (Michael, 1992).
The elections, however, did not take place. According to Michael (1992) the military, upon seeing a sweeping victory for the Islamists, canceled them. Increased pressure forced the government to move them to December of the same year with second-round runoffs slated for January 1992. Voting was by universal suffrage and secret ballots, FIS seemed assured of victory by commanding 80 percent of all the contested seats. But again, to avert a sweeping Islamist victory the military canceled the second round of elections. This led to the coup d’ état on 11 January 1992 where President Bendjedid was forced by military and civilian officials to resign and in his place, the country was led by a five-member High State Council which was however backed and manipulated by the military.
The calling off of the second round of elections, together with political uncertainty as well as economic turmoil, led to a violent response by FIS adherents and other Islamists. The elements organized themselves into three; the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and lastly a faction that seceded from the GIA – the Salafist Group for Islamist Preaching (GSPC.) A campaign of assassinations, bombings, and massacres followed The FIS was officially dissolved and outlawed by the High State Council in 1992. Over 50,000 members were arrested tried and jailed. Violence and terrorism have rocked Algeria through the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century. As many as 100,000 Algerians died as a consequence.
In April 1999 the Algerian people elected Abdelaziz Bouteflika president. He has had mixed results. Some problems have included the military being in opposition to genuine attempts at reform and more so since they still wield great political power. He has also faced local international criticism for social unrest in the eastern Algeria Berber region of Kabylia since April 2001. Algeria has also had to deal with the possible presence and activities of al-Qaeda within their borders. As a result his agenda first has focused on bringing back security and stability. This bore fruit in January 2000 when, in a positive reaction to his election, the FIS even dissolved its armed branch, the Islamic Salvation Army. He sponsored the ‘Civil Concord’, in mid-January 2000 which was an amnesty for fighters who agreed to place down their arms if they had not committed ‘blood crimes’ such as murder and rape. He has also set ambitious targets designed for economic reform and attracting foreign investors. He has also made progress in educational and judicial reform as well as the restructuring of state bureaucracy by putting in place commissions to look into them. On the economic front, progress has also been made as shown by an International Monetary Fund report, released in March 2003, which cited solid progress in Algeria’s macro-economic indicators. Overall Algeria has worked to improved human rights and democracy record both locally and internationally in the 21st century.
References
Algeria: Political background. Web.
“Algerian Insurgency.” Web.
Laskier, Michael M. “Algeria Holds its First Free Multi-party Elections.” In Great Events from History II: Human Rights Series, edited by Frank N. Magill. Pasadena, CA, and Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1992.