Algeria’s Largest Opposition Party Runs for Early Parliamentary Elections

An electoral commission worker gives out a ballot paper to a voter in the presidential elections at a polling station in Algiers (AFP)
An electoral commission worker gives out a ballot paper to a voter in the presidential elections at a polling station in Algiers (AFP)
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Algeria’s Largest Opposition Party Runs for Early Parliamentary Elections

An electoral commission worker gives out a ballot paper to a voter in the presidential elections at a polling station in Algiers (AFP)
An electoral commission worker gives out a ballot paper to a voter in the presidential elections at a polling station in Algiers (AFP)

The largest Islamic opposition party in Algeria will be running for the early parliamentary elections, the date of which is yet to be announced.

Head of the Islamist Movement of Society for Peace, Abdul Razzaq Muqri, accused the extremist secular current of leading a conspiracy plan, saying it does not want elections because it has no chances to win.

Muqri criticized the secular parties in a press conference in Algiers without mentioning them, stating that the parties in question want to impose a transitional stage because they have influence within state institutions and foreign media.

Observers believe he was referring to the Labor Party and the Rally for Culture and Democracy after they expressed reservations about the meetings between Muqri, parties' leaders, and the president which resulted in the dissolution of the parliament and preparations for early legislative elections.

The parties believe the elections that brought Tebboune as president are “not legitimate” and further deepened the "legitimacy crisis".

They also believe that a two-year transitional phase can solve the ruling crisis, given that it is led by a group of figures known for their integrity. The figures will be tasked with organizing the presidential elections which will lead to a national unity government, provided that the army is not involved.

The authority rejected this proposition, indicating that it serves foreign agendas. It also accuses national parties of seeking to put Algeria on the path of chaos, as the case in Syria and Libya.



Israeli Military Says Gaza Polio Vaccination Campaign Completed

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Says Gaza Polio Vaccination Campaign Completed

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)
A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, November 2, 2024. (Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Wednesday aid organizations had completed a second polio vaccination round for children in Gaza, administering more than 1.1 million vaccinations in different areas of the enclave, achieving 90% coverage.

Limits on the area covered by a humanitarian pause in the fighting to conduct the campaign, meant the campaign in northern Gaza was largely restricted to the area around Gaza City, the World Health Organization said.

The polio campaign began on Sept. 1 after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

Out of a total of 1,107,541 vaccinations for children across Gaza there were 211,170 vaccinations in northern Gaza, 379,361 vaccinations in central Gaza and 517,070 vaccinations in southern Gaza, the military said in a statement.

COGAT, the military agency that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, has been working with international agencies to coordinate the campaign, which requires two vaccine doses per child.

On Tuesday, Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian Territories, said the mass evacuations from areas in northern Gaza where the Israeli military has been operating for more than a month, had made it difficult to estimate the number of children who might be missed in the north.

The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90% of children under 10 years of age, according to the United Nations.