Algeria’s Ruling Parties Win Local Elections

People stroll by electoral posters for the local elections, Wednesday, Nov.22, 2017 in Algiers. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algeria’s two ruling parties - the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the National Rally for Democracy (RND) – won the majority of local electoral seats, in a much similar scenario to the legislative elections the country has witnessed last May.
 
Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Badawi told a press conference on Friday that the FLN won 603 municipalities out of a total of 1,541, or 56.30 percent, while the RND won 451 municipalities, representing 21.25 percent, according to German news agency.
 
The Front of the Future came in the third position, with the majority in 71 municipalities, followed by the Socialist Forces Front (64), the Algerian People’s Front (62 municipalities), the Movement for Peace Society (49) and the Rally for Culture and Democracy (47), Ahrar (35), Amal Algeria (31), the Algerian National Front (27) and the Left Workers’ Party (17).
 
The participation rate was relatively high, at 96.44 percent for state councils and 83.46 percent for municipal councils.
 
Fifty political parties and four alliances were competing for seats in 1,541 city councils and 48 state legislatures.
 
The electoral campaign focused on delicate matters such as the tough economic condition, the financial law of 2018 and the presidential elections in 2019, amidst expectations that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will opt to run as a candidate for a fifth presidential term.