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Algeria's Goudjil Elected Speaker, Angering Hirak Movement

Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)
Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)
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Algeria's Goudjil Elected Speaker, Angering Hirak Movement

Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)
Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)

The Algerian National Assembly named Salah Goudjil as speaker, which was met with a wave of criticism from Hirak activists who condemned President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's choice.

Observers said the designation contradicts the president’s positions, who pledged to "build a new Algeria" and encouraged young people to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Hirak activists expressed their anger after Goudjil’s nomination, saying it reflects negatively on the president's approach to establish a "new Algeria", in which young cadres are given the opportunity to run main state bodies, as pledged by Tebboune during his presidential campaign at the end of 2019.

In 2020, Goudjil was named interim president of the National Assembly succeeding Abdelkader Bensalah, who resigned for health reasons.

He was named as head of the parliament after some members of the council withdrew their nominations for the position indicating that the matter was already decided by the presidency.

Goudjil belongs to the “presidential quota” in the National Assembly, which is a group of 47 parliamentarians chosen by Tebboune to support policies and bills introduced by the government.

He has benefited from the strong support of the National Liberation Front and Democratic National Rally, the two pillars of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's regime.

Goudjil, 90, is a veteran of Algeria's revolution for independence and assumed a ministerial position at the end of the 1970s.

He is also considered one of the symbols of the former National Liberation Front. Hirak called for dissolving the Front accusing it of corruption in the country.

The judiciary has imprisoned two secretaries-general of the Liberation Front, in addition to several of its parliamentarians and ministers, on corruption charges, including paying bribes during the 2017 elections.

Goudjil described the upcoming legislative and local elections as an “important milestone," emphasizing that true democracy provides Algeria with immunity to face all the challenges.

“Algeria has set an example to be followed in democracy in defiance of its enemies at home and abroad.”

Last week, Tebboune said he would launch arrangements for establishing a "Higher Council for Youth", which was introduced by the new constitution.

He also said that the state will cover the expenses of electoral campaigns of young candidates for the parliamentary elections, after announcing the dissolution of parliament.

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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Hemedti Aide: Ready for Talks to End Sudan War if Seriousness Shown

Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A senior adviser to the commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said the group is open to serious negotiations with the government based in Port Sudan to end the country’s devastating conflict, now in its third year, provided there is genuine political will from the other side.

The remarks by Ezz El-Din Al-Safi, who is also a member of the RSF’s negotiating team, come as international actors prepare to meet in Brussels on Thursday in a bid to lay the groundwork for a ceasefire.

The talks are expected to include the European Union, African Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain.

“Negotiations could begin with confidence-building measures and credible arrangements,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Dialogue remains the best path to ending a war that has no winners, only losers, both the people and the nation.”

He said the RSF is ready to discuss the location, timing, and possible mediators for peace talks, but stressed that any engagement must be met with equal seriousness by Sudan’s military-backed government.

However, Al-Safi cautioned that his group would not accept talks that merely allow the opposing side to regroup and secure external support to resume fighting.

“We cannot enter into a dialogue that gives the other party time to reorganize and rearm,” he said, adding that the RSF remains “at its strongest” on the battlefield.

Sudan’s army has conditioned any peace negotiations on the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian agreement signed in May 2023. The deal, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, has since been marred by mutual accusations of violations from both the military and the RSF.

Meanwhile, the RSF is pushing ahead with plans to form a rival administration in areas under its control.

Al-Safi, a senior adviser to RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said the group is nearing the formation of what he called a “government of unity and peace.”

He added that over 90% of the preparations for the announcement have been completed.

“The delay in announcing the government is due to ongoing consultations among members of the Founding Sudan Alliance [Tasis], which supports this move,” Al-Safi told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s not because of internal disagreements, as some have suggested.”

Asked about the planned capital of the parallel government, Al-Safi declined to name the city but suggested it would not be Khartoum.

“There are cities more beautiful than Khartoum,” he said. “From a strategic perspective, I believe the capital should be temporary and capable of accommodating all institutions of government.”

He only noted that the proposed city is located in territory controlled by the Tasis alliance.

The RSF’s moves come amid growing fears that the fragmentation of Sudan will deepen if parallel authorities are entrenched, further complicating efforts to reach a comprehensive peace.