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Islamic Candidates Strive for Victory in Algerian Polls
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Lahbeeb
Ademy |
By Mohammad Mosaddaq, IOL Correspondent
ALGIERS, May 18 (IslamOnline) – With less than a fortnight to go before Algeria’s Parliamentary elections on May 30th, 23 Parties and 123 independent lists started their second week of campaigning to win a majority.
Leading among contestants, there are three Islamic Parties. The first is Movement for Society of Peace, led by Sheikh Mahfouz Nihnah, second is Renaissance Movement led by Lahbeeb Ademy, as well as the Movement of National Reform led by Sheikh Abdullah Gaballah. However, the Islamic Salvation Front is still banned from participating in the political life.
The Democratic National Assembly Party, which enjoyed Parliamentary majority during last period, also tries to keep its majority, led by current Minister of Justice Ahmed Oyahya. National Liberation Front Party, led by current Prime Minister, Aly Bin Flees, will also try to grab a piece of the cake.
However, the main two Amazigh Parties in the Tribal Area, Social Powers Front, led by Hussien Ayat Ahmed, and Assembly for Culture and Democracy, led by Saeed Saady, are both boycotting the elections.
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Gaballah |
Well-known political figures have also called for boycotting the elections due to the violence in the tribal area. Instead, they demanded a negotiated solution for the Algerian crisis with the military leadership.
Holders of that view include former Presidential candidate and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Talib al-Ibrahimy, former Secretary General of the Defense Ministry, Rasheed bin Yilis and president of Algerian Society for Human Rights, Aly Yahya Abdul Nour.
This comes along as unrest is intensified in several areas of the country such as Tiezy Ozu, Bijaya, and Boyierah states as well as rising tensions inside prisons and deteriorating social relations.
Unlike the first week of the campaign, which took off on May 9, the second week witnessed remarkable activity of Islamic Parties to win people’s votes. They try to sell their electoral programs to secure the highest possible majority in the coming polls.
For their part, Islamic Parties asserted that they would go out of the coming elections with a sweeping victory if ‘free and fair polls’ were truly applied. Therefore, they called upon voters to come out to the voting boxes to deal a blow to those who want Algeria ‘to be always on a transitional period, to hold to power as long as they can’.
Some observers expect Islamic candidates to win ‘easily’ should the polls go freely, unlike the elections of 1997 when the National Democratic Assembly (Ruling Party) won both Parliamentary and Municipal elections, only three months after its establishment.
They believe that measures and decisions taken by the Ministry of Interiors - such as banning more than 60 Islamic candidates from running for elections for vague reasons and dropping more than 40 independent lists for no declared reasons at all – will not affect the chances of an Islamic majority in Parliament this time.
Movement for Society of Peace launched its campaign, under the title of ‘Power of Change,’ from Al-qasba old district in Algiers. The Movement’s delegation, comprising members of the political office and candidates and led by Sheikh Nihnah, toured the streets and held meetings with people about their problems and aspirations, pointing to how the Movement plans to face that.
For his part, General Secretary of Renaissance Movement, Lahbeeb Ademy launched a fierce attack of those calling for ‘blocking the Islamic Parties’ whether by forging the elections or excluding Islamic candidates, dubbing them ‘anti-democratic and pro-colonialists’.
During his public gatherings, Ademy stressed the four points of his Party’s electoral program, which includes, a) calling for strengthening the nature of the nation, b) national reconciliation based on releasing all political detainees, c) adopting and helping the victims of the Algerian crisis from all political tendencies, and finally adopting real democracy along with strict application of the constitution.
For its part, the banned Islamic Salvation Front issued a statement calling upon Algerians to vote for the Islamic candidates. It also expressed its disappointment at the government’s adamant insistence on banning it, while at the same time lashed out at those calling for delaying the polls because of tribal boycott.
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