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)
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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.



European Allies to Meet over Syria, Says Italy’s Foreign Ministry

 Passengers wear adopted flags by the new Syrian rulers at the arrival terminal of Damascus airport, as Qatar Airways becomes the first international airline to announce the return of international flights at Damascus airport after 13 years of its suspension, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Passengers wear adopted flags by the new Syrian rulers at the arrival terminal of Damascus airport, as Qatar Airways becomes the first international airline to announce the return of international flights at Damascus airport after 13 years of its suspension, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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European Allies to Meet over Syria, Says Italy’s Foreign Ministry

 Passengers wear adopted flags by the new Syrian rulers at the arrival terminal of Damascus airport, as Qatar Airways becomes the first international airline to announce the return of international flights at Damascus airport after 13 years of its suspension, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Passengers wear adopted flags by the new Syrian rulers at the arrival terminal of Damascus airport, as Qatar Airways becomes the first international airline to announce the return of international flights at Damascus airport after 13 years of its suspension, in Damascus, Syria, January 7, 2025. (Reuters)

Foreign ministers from Italy, France, Germany, Britain and the United States will meet this week over the situation in Syria, Italy said Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will preside over the meeting Thursday with his European and US counterparts, the ministry wrote in a statement.

The US Department of State had announced Monday that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken would meet European counterparts, calling it an occasion "to advocate for a peaceful, inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition".

Opposition forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive last month after 13 years of brutal war, with Western powers cautiously hoping for greater stability in Syria.

Italy's foreign ministry said Tajani sought the meeting "to take stock of the situation in Syria one month after the fall of the Assad regime".

On the agenda is the work of Syria's transitional government and the challenges posed by an upcoming national dialogue conference, it said.

Also to be discussed are the drafting of a new constitution and Syria's economic recovery.

In Rome, Blinken will join US President Joe Biden as he pays a farewell visit to Italy's capital that includes an audience with Pope Francis.