Algerian poll: Advantage Abdelaziz Bouteflika
I: Strong Candidate
Algeria is holding its presidential poll on April 9as a mere formality to endorse the incumbent president to resume the office for the third time consecutively. When many Russians wanted their favorite president Vladimir Putin to continue for another term, if not for longer period, and though Putin had options to change constitution to enable him to contest for the third term, possibly under severe pressure form the US-led west, he decided not to amend the constitution but put in place a loyal colleague Medvedev. President Bush was happy the US constitution does not provide for third term, other wise he would have been in an embarrassing position to leave the contest now. But the Council of Ministers of Algeria announced on 3 November 2008 that a planned constitutional revision would remove the two-term limit on the Presidency that was previously included in Article 74, thereby enabling President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a third term. The move was criticized by the opposition saying reform could destroy political pluralism. Last parliamentary elections were held in May 2007 when the ruling party won them.
Algeria's presidential election has been set for April 9, under a decree signed by outgoing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who is also a candidate to run again. Under the North Africa country's law, approved candidates must collect at least 600 signatures from elected 75,000 signatures, be a proven Muslim, born an Algerian and married to one. Algeria's highest court has six candidates, who fulfilled the requirements to run, out of 13 candidates registered, including incumbent head of state Abdelaziz Bouteflika of National Liberation Front (FLN). The two nationalist Islamist politicians are moderate Mohammed Said and hardliner Djahid Younsie. Nationalists Moussa Touati and Fawzi Rebaine are also in the running. Veteran left-winger Louisa Hanoune is the only woman in the race.
Most of the main political opposition refuses to take part in elections they call a sham, rigged to bring back the president for a third term after changes to the constitution. Such leaders also call for abstention at the polls. The president's main rival is Louisa Hanoune, 55, of the Trotkyist Labour Party, who is the only woman to stand for the presidency and is campaigning for the second time. Hanoune has proposed a land tenure reform program, the restructuring of public companies, creating a more efficient and responsive civil service and installing "real democracy." Her program also promotes job security measures for young people. Analysts expect Bouteflika to easily beat his five rivals for office at the polls on April 9.
Bouteflika has promised a transparent election and authorities said they would invite international observers to monitor the vote. The Algerian parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 380 members; and an upper chamber, the Council Of Nation, with 144 members. Under the 1976 constitution (as modified 1979, and amended in 1988, 1989, and 1996) Algeria is a multi-party state. The head of state is the President of Algeria, who is elected to a five-year term. The president, as of a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament on 2008 November 11, is not limited to any term length Algeria has universal suffrage at 18 years of age. The President is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the Prime Minister who is also the head of government. The Prime Minister appoints the Council of Ministers.
Turnout in a 2007 legislative poll was 35 percent, the lowest of any Algerian election to date. The government has sent millions of mobile phone SMS messages urging people to vote next month, saying: "Don't let anyone decide for you". Students living far from home will be allowed to vote near their university compounds and mosque imams have been asked to encourage the faithful to turn out on polling day.
II. Bouteflika: a profile
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his independent candidacy for a third term at a rally in Algiers on 12 February 2009, and he officially submitted his candidacy on 23 February, shortly before the deadline. First elected in 1999 with the backing of Algeria’s powerful military and with no opponents, and re-elected in 2004 with 85 percent of the votes, Bouteflika, 72, is running at the helm of a pro-presidential coalition in parliament. His supporters, however, claim that only he can see through a fragile transition from the conflict and chaos of the 1990s, when civil conflict tore Algeria apart. Since then he has strengthened his reputation as a deft political operator, shoring up the presidency. But critics say he has disappointed critics who had hoped for lasting political reform.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika was born on 2 March 1937 to Algerian parents living in Morocco. Bouteflika is campaigning to win the April 9 vote on the platform of "a strong and serene Algeria." He promised to pursue state investment in development schemes for the north African country, which is rich is oil and natural gas but has a high rate of unemployment, to the tune of 150 billion dollars (110 billion euros) over five years. Investment and development will "permit a return to peace," said Bouteflika, who has already won the backing of voters on a reconciliation program that at the turn of the century ended the worst of a Muslin fundamentalist insurgency that cost about 150,000 lives in a decade.
Like many of independent Algeria's future elite, he won his spurs in the eight-year war of liberation against the French. Joining Algeria's liberation movement three years into the war in 1957, he served in his family's home region in western Algeria, among the commanders who went on to form the "Oujda clan" that played a dominant role after independence. He then moved to the "Malian Front" in the south, earning the nom de guerre "Si Abdelkader el-Mali", before undertaking a secret mission to France in 1961 to make contact with imprisoned leaders of the liberation movement.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika has amazingly huge political, administrative and diplomatic experience. A historically famed Abdelaziz Bouteflika entered in the field of jihad against the French colonialism in 1956 when he was 19 years of age; therefore his participation in the liberation revolution is considered as one of the powerful points enjoyed by him. As far as his diplomatic experience is concerned it is more famous than what is known as he served directly after independence the portfolio of minister of youth and sports, then minister of tourism, as a Youngman of 25 years of age. In 1963 he was appointed as foreign minister and remained with same capacity up to 1979 and served two successive tenures as president of the Algerian Republic from April 1999 to April 2009.
The mass support he enjoys seems to be unique thanks to his overall achievements, including interest in developing the economic, roads, water and communication network plus educational aspects; waving off the loans of farmers; raising the salaries of employees and graduating students’ scholarships; announcement the project of building the biggest mosque in the world, after the Holly Mosques, named The Great Mosque and his call for peace and national reconciliation; effective contribution in stopping the bloodshed in Algeria. The achievements of Abdelaziz Bouteflika during his presidency 1999-2009 made a lot of sections of the Algerian people to flock around him. A veteran of Algerian politics, Bouteflika has overseen a return to relative peace, though there has been a series of suicide bombings over the last two years blamed on militants linked to “al-Qaeda”.Bouteflika. As the president prepared to speak, his supporters sang, danced and waved photos of their candidate. "I came here for continuity -- I have no other manifesto," Bouteflika told them, smiling broadly. "Algeria was besieged. We managed to restore our dignity.
Bouteflika is intimately acquainted with the corridors of power. At independence in 1962 he became minister of youth, sports and tourism at the tender age of 26, where he acquired a good reputation, rising to the post of foreign minister the following year under President Ahmed Ben Bella. The late Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski wrote how Ben Bella, a passionate footballer, used to rush out to play a game with his foreign minister between political meetings. However, Bouteflika went on to become the principal organiser of the bloodless coup that brought Houari Boumedienne to power. However, as a leading FLN figure Bouteflika spent a period in the political wilderness after the death of President Houari Boumedienne. He made a big comeback in 1999 with his election to the presidency and was re-elected in 2004. The 1996 constitution limited the president to two terms, so the FLN mounted a campaign to reform the law.
Under President Boumedienne, Algeria became a leading voice of the Non-Aligned Movement, lending support to a range of radical or revolutionary groups and independence movements. While the president was reclusive, Bouteflika became known as the "dandy diplomat", a well-dressed spokesman for the developing world. By the time Boumedienne unexpectedly died in 1979, he had positioned himself as one of two favourites to take over. Sidelined, then accused of corruption, he went into self-imposed exile in 1981, spending time in Switzerland and the Gulf. When he returned, in 1987, the grip of the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) appeared to be slipping. He was one of 18 historic figures who signed a letter calling for democracy and political reform a year later, following a brutal crackdown on riots in Algiers. The riots, followed by the repeal of a ban on political parties, marked a false dawn and the beginning of a painful chapter in Algerian history. The Islamist Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) rapidly gained popularity, and was poised to win parliamentary elections in 1992 when the army stepped in, sparking an insurgency. Amid the ensuing chaos, Bouteflika was offered the interim presidency in 1994 but turned it down, reportedly because he was not given power over military appointments.. It was only in 1999, as the military sought to lower its profile that Bouteflika stepped forward. He won the presidency uncontested, as all six other candidates withdrew from the poll less than 24 hours before the vote, complaining of foul play.
Though his opponents again complained of fraud when Bouteflika sought and won re-election in 2004, his victory did reflect genuine popularity. The insurgency has been reduced to its core, but since 2006 has rebranded itself as a branch of al-Qaeda, launching a series of suicide attacks in urban areas. There have been other types of unrest, with social, political and economic grievances spilling over into violent protests throughout Bouteflika's time in office. The president was widely criticized for his response to the most serious recent riots, which took place in the Berber region of Kabylia in 2001.
III. Issues
Rampant corruption remians the main hurdle to development and equal justice in Africa and Algeria cannot be different in the continent.
Algeria's economy relies heavily on oil and gas exports and investment in the non-oil sector is too weak to create enough jobs for an overwhelmingly young population, although Bouteflika has promised $150 billion for development spending if elected. Analysts say it will be harder to ensure long-term stability unless the government re-connects with young people who view the authorities as self-serving and out of touch. Unemployment stands officially at 11 percent but is estimated at more than 70 percent among adults under 30 and a survey last year suggested that as many as half of Algerian young men are tempted by illegal emigration.
As president, Bouteflika has focused on security affairs, and styles himself the "architect of national reconciliation", extending amnesty to repentant terrorists. On the economic front the president has been very fortunate. The rise in oil prices that began almost as soon as he came to power enabled Algeria to embark on a number of large-scale projects, but the task of ending the country's dependence on its oil revenues has not been achieved. Bouteflika's election campaign is under way. During public appearances made over the last few days he announced two key measures that he plans to implement: raising the minimum wage and writing off farmers' debts.
Bouteflika said that "from the time the foundations for development have now been implemented, the program investment over the past five years is about $ 123 billion to 150 billion dollars in 2010-2014”, as announced earlier by him. The rate of growth at the macro level has stabilized at around 6.3% in 2007, 6% in 2008 and will be the same in 2009 despite the global economic crisis. Bouteflika said that the same will be considered priorities for the next five years, citing in particular the East-West highway, rail and housing. He assured that the implementation of the development of the country has reached "cruising speed which you can not go back."
More than a million Algerians were killed in the fight for independence from France in 1962, and the country has recently emerged from a brutal internal conflict that followed scrapped elections in 1992. In the 1990s Algerian politics was dominated by the struggle involving the military and Islamist militants. In 1992 a general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, heralding a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people were slaughtered. North African governments fear that local Islamist groups in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia may be linking up under the umbrella of the new Islamic movement.
(Trouble Spots)
Separatist movement by minorities, though not a serious concern, does play a role in the poll. Meanwhile, the Berbers in Algeria have said they will boycott the presidential poll set for 8 April. The Berbers would also launch a campaign to disrupt the elections in the Kabylie region. Since independence from France in 1962, the majority Arab community, backed by both the military and Islamist lobbies, has maintained that Arabic must be the sole language recognized by the state. The Berber leaders have rejected the government's offer to hold a referendum on the language question, saying that the marginalization of Tamazight was a historic injustice. The talks between Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and the Berbers, who make up about one fifth of the Algerian population, were aimed at ending a long-running crisis in Kabylie, which saw bloody rioting in 2001. Talks between the Berbers and the government broke down over their demand that the Tamazight language should have equal status with Arabic. The government has been desperate to strike a peace agreement with Berbers.
Algerian President Bouteflika recently took his campaign to the Berber homeland of Kabylie for what he called a "historic meeting" with its people. At least 120 people died in violent clashes across Kabylie in 2001 after a police officer shot dead a Berber youth. Bouteflika told a packed hall in Tizi Ouzou that he had come with a message of reconciliation, but he warned against separatist tendencies.
The Berbers, a non-Semitic people, dominated North Africa until it was conquered by Arabs in the 7th Century, and their culture is thought to reach back 4000 years. In the 21st Century there are substantial Berber populations in Morocco and Algeria, plus smaller numbers in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. A significant minority in Algeria at some 30 per cent, they are identified primarily by language and culture. Tamazight, one of several Berber dialects, is the main language of the Berber region of Algeria, Kabylia. Berber linguistic and cultural aspirations loom as a separatist threat.. The main issue is not nationalism, but cultural separatism, with the Berber language at its heart. In 2001 the government agreed to a series of demands by the minority Berbers, including official recognition of their language, after months of unrest involving Berber youths demanding greater cultural and political recognition. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has met some of the Kabylian demands -- in 2003 the Algerian authorities made Tamazight a national language -- but the Kabylians want it to have equal status, as an official language, alongside Arabic. Berbers are generally viewed as Anti-Islamists and Anti-Arab Nationalists or the Kabylians Amazigh culture. Their extremism and brutality undermined solidarity among the Arabs.
The president's health has added to uncertainty. In 2005, Bouteflika was rushed to France for emergency treatment on what was described as a bleeding stomach ulcer, since when his physical condition has been a source of constant speculation. Attempting to fight off these challenges, opponents say the president has resorted to an increasingly authoritarian style.
IV: FLN: A political monopoly
Algeria's ruling FLN party has dominated the country for almost half a century and that is unlikely to change in April's presidential elections. Some refer to the National Liberation Front (FLN) as "The Invincible". Others even compare it to the Seven-Headed Hydra, a monster of Greek mythology - if it loses one head, it has still got six to fight with. The FLN is not only a party, but also the state.
The FLN led the struggle for liberation from 1954 to 1962 and since then, because of its revolutionary credentials, has monopolized almost all things political. For a long time opponents of the FLN ran the risk of being accused of betraying Algeria's national interests. Only one party tried to oppose FLN rule - the Movement of Algerian Nationalists - which was defeated after a bloody struggle. During the war a number of leadership battles shook the FLN - in particular between military chiefs fighting within the country and political leaders in exile, most notably in Morocco and Tunisia. After independence in 1962, and for the next 25 years, those attempting to launch their own movements to counter FLN domination failed. A one-party system was imposed and a witch-hunt launched against any suspected opponents. Under President Ahmed Ben Bella's rule, the FLN turned its dogma into Algeria's only legal ideology and presented itself as the overarching "guide" of the Algerian people, effectively dismissing citizens as not being mature enough for democracy. In the 1970s, the party invented the concept of "Responsible Democracy" through which members could moderately criticize the FLN, as long as their views did not target the party line or leadership. Soon afterwards, the FLN suffered heavy defeats during the country's first multi-party elections in 1991, but the party had seen it coming. In 1989, sensing that they were far from popular, FLN members created a myriad of political groupings, without any popular base. This prompted Algerians to describe their country as having a "60-party one-party system".
The largest movement created in such a way was the National Democratic Rally (RND) which was just a front for FLN cadres and members during the civil war against Islamists in the 1990s. Indeed the RND won the parliamentary and local elections in 1997, says a critic, the hydra had lost a head, and was using one of its spare ones. It may have been a brand new party but it had a fully functioning electoral machine. Unsurprisingly, in 2000 the RND lost its majority in parliament to the FLN and retreated to the wings, waiting to lend support to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's attempt at a third term. The FLN is also the standard bearer of the so-called "Revolutionary Family" of influential organizations, like the Association of the Liberation War Veterans and used by the party to strengthen its hold on the country's institutions.
V: Future Algeria
Algeria, a gateway between Africa and Europe, has been battered by violence over the past half-century. Algeria was originally inhabited by Berbers until the Islam began spreading in North Africa in the 7th century. The Sahara desert covers more than four-fifths of the land. Part of the Turkish Ottoman empire from the 16th century, Algeria was conquered by the French in 1830 and was given the status of a "department". The struggle for independence began in 1954 headed by the National Liberation Front, which came to power on independence in 1962. In Algeria a lot of intelligent Muslims around, but many were tortured and killed without trial. There is a naive schema democracy against dictatorship.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika would ride on the past-cum-present achievement of the party. Many Algerians believe that there is little chance for true democracy to take hold as long as the FLN behaves as if it is the state itself. Supporters say Bouteflika deserves the trust of the people for steering Africa's second-largest country back to stability after a civil conflict in the 1990s that claimed an estimated 150,000 lives. A 24-year-old bank employee Samia said, "Bouteflika is the only man who can help this country get out of its economic and social crisis". Well-known opposition figures are boycotting the April 9 poll and the fact that none of Bouteflika's five challengers has much chance raises the prospect of a low turnout that would underscore popular apathy towards formal politics.
Algerian President seeks high turnout in presidential poll, promises more investment, development. The program alégiren President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at the presidential election on 9 April focussed on continuity and stability of the country. Oil and gas reserves were discovered here in the 1950s, but most Algerians live along the northern coast. The country supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe and energy exports are the backbone of the economy. Many Algerians say they have not felt the effects of the country's new wealth. And in a country where - despite Boutflika's boosting of the presidency - a good deal of power still rests in the hands of a shadowy group of former generals and their associates, political jostling has continued.
Since the Algerian opposition parties are boycotting the election, claiming it is being rigged for Bouteflika, the return of the incumbent president to the seat is a bygone conclusion. . Campaigning began for the Algerian presidential election widely seen as a one-horse race that will ensure President Abdelaziz Bouteflika a third term. Government critics cried foul when parliament amended the North African OPEC member's constitution last year to allow the 72-year-old Bouteflika to seek another five-year mandate. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose political career has already spanned five decades and whose health is believed uncertain but if , as expected, he wins April's elections, he will become, for his critics, the latest of a long line of regional leaders determined to stay in office for life - living proof of Algeria's surrender to autocracy.
Bouteflika campaigned on his promise to bring peace to Algeria, and soon introduced the first of two reconciliation plans that granted broad amnesties to Islamist militants, while laying the blame for the conflict firmly on the insurgents. He also charged off once more on the diplomatic trail, seeking to mend the reputation of a regime battered by accusations of major human rights abuses. As president, he has overseen a gradual reduction in violence, and, using money from Algeria's oil and gas exports, has launched a program currently worth some $150bn (£105bn) to rebuild the country.
In the west there is only one main religion: money. The more you make it the more you get power and respect. The western regimes have corrupted Muslim governments. In fact the presidents and kings have no control over their own faith. Western powers know how vulnerable the Muslim governments are now. They don't want peace they want oil, they want Arabs to buy products that's they don't need. Arms deal; everybody knows the Arabs are the best clients. The mighty West keeps threatening Indonesia with “terrorisms”. Most of western companies love the status quo of Arab conflicts, the best way to make billions dollars with selling arms to the Muslims to kill each other. They don't want the Muslims to be free and truly democratic. Indonesia would have to balance its policies.
Bouteflika pledged a million new homes and to seek to create three million jobs by sponsoring small and medium-sized businesses.. Meanwhile, the security forces continue to hunt down small Islamist cells responsible for violence that still claims lives. "Bouteflika is a good guy, but I am fed up with politics. Voting will bring no change, so why vote?” said Abdelghani Rezaki, a 35 year old national railway company employee.
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Yours Sincerely,
DR. ABDUL RUFF Colachal
Columnist & Independent Researcher in World Affairs,
The only Indian to have gone through entire India
South Asia.
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