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.



Erdogan Expects Support from Syria in Türkiye's Battle with PKK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)
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Erdogan Expects Support from Syria in Türkiye's Battle with PKK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint news conference with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria October 20, 2021. (Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Syria's new leadership is determined to root out separatists there, as Ankara said its military had "neutralized" 32 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in the country.

A rebellion by groups close to Türkiye ousted Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad last month. Since then, Türkiye-backed Syrian forces have occasionally clashed in the north with US-backed Kurdish forces that Ankara deems terrorists.

"With the revolution in Syria... the hopes of the separatist terrorist organization hit a wall," Erdogan told his party's provincial congress in Trabzon.

"The new administration in Syria is showing an extremely determined stance in preserving the country's territorial integrity and unitary structure," he said.

"The end of the terrorist organization is near. There is no option left other than to surrender their weapons, abandon terrorism, and dissolve the organization. They will face Türkiye's iron fist," Erdogan added.

The defense ministry separately announced the armed forces' operation in northern Syria that it said had "neutralized" - a term that usually means killed - the 32 PKK members. It said Türkiye's military had also "neutralized" four PKK members in northern Iraq, where the militants are based.