Algeria's FLN Wins Most Seats in Parliament, Election Authority Says

President of Algeria's National Independent Elections Authority Mohamed Chorfi holds a press conference to announce the results of parliamentary elections. (AFP)
President of Algeria's National Independent Elections Authority Mohamed Chorfi holds a press conference to announce the results of parliamentary elections. (AFP)
TT

Algeria's FLN Wins Most Seats in Parliament, Election Authority Says

President of Algeria's National Independent Elections Authority Mohamed Chorfi holds a press conference to announce the results of parliamentary elections. (AFP)
President of Algeria's National Independent Elections Authority Mohamed Chorfi holds a press conference to announce the results of parliamentary elections. (AFP)

Algeria's National Liberation Front party (FLN) won the most seats in Saturday's parliamentary election, the head of the electoral authority said on Tuesday.

Fewer than a third of registered voters took part in the election.

The protests that erupted in 2019 demanded the ousting of the ruling elite, an end to corruption and the army's withdrawal from politics. While authorities praised the demonstrations as a moment of national renewal, they also cracked down with arrests.

"The dynamic of peaceful change that was launched (with the protests) is being strengthened," electoral authority head Mohamed Chorfi said, referring to the election, Reuters reported.

The FLN's 105 seats were far short of the 204 needed to secure a majority in the 407-seat parliament, with the Islamist MSP winning 64 seats, another former ruling coalition party, the RND, winning 57, and independent candidates taking 78 seats.

However, most of the elected members of parliament are expected to support President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's program, including economic reforms.

Islamist parties had hoped to benefit from the unrest of the past two years of protests that pushed the veteran president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, from office and led to the jailing of numerous senior officials.

But the biggest difference from previous elections was the much larger number of independents winning seats in parliament, with Islamists retaining about the same share as previously.

The leaderless "Hirak" mass protest movement boycotted the vote, as it had the 2019 election that installed Tebboune in place of Bouteflika.

Hirak has said any vote that takes place while the current establishment remains in place, and while the army interferes in politics, cannot be fair.

While elections before Hirak's rise had higher official turnout figures, they were still often marked by a large number of abstentions.

The make-up of the new parliament is expected to shape the next government, which will face a looming economic crisis with Algeria having spent more than four fifths of its foreign currency reserves since 2013.



Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza Strip as New Ceasefire Talks Begin

A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
TT

Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza Strip as New Ceasefire Talks Begin

A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A Palestinian woman reacts at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 4, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

An Israeli military strike killed 12 people in a house in Gaza City early on Saturday, bringing the death toll from strikes across Gaza to 62 over the last day, Palestinian medics said, as mediators launched a new ceasefire push in Qatar.

Residents and medics said at least 14 people had been in the house of the Al-Ghoula family when the strike took place in the early hours, destroying the building, Reuters reported.

People scoured the rubble for possible survivors trapped under the debris and medics said several children were among those killed. A few flames and trails of smoke continued to rise from burning furniture in the ruins hours after the attack.

"At about 2 a.m. (00:00 GMT) we were woken up by the sound of a huge explosion," said Ahmed Ayyan, a neighbour of the Al-Ghoula family, adding that 14 or 15 people had been staying in the house.

"Most of them are women and children, they are all civilians, there is no one there who shot missiles, or is from the resistance," Ayyan told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.

The military said in a statement on Saturday that its forces had continued their operations this week in Beit Hanoun town in the northern edge of the enclave, where the army has been operating for three months, and had destroyed a military complex that had been used by Hamas.

Later on Saturday, an Israeli airstrike killed three people in a car east of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, medics said. Dozens of Palestinians were killed in strikes on Friday, bringing the death toll during the past 24 hours to 62, health officials said.

A surge in Israeli operations and the number of Palestinians killed in recent days comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old war and return Israeli hostages before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Israeli mediators were dispatched to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, and US President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to broker the talks, urged Hamas on Friday to agree to a deal.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement but it was unclear how close the two sides were.